A problem in the national electricity grid in Pakistan left about 220 million people without electricity. Pakistan’s Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir said in a statement on the subject that there was a widespread malfunction in the system as the national electricity grid shut down at 07:34 local time. Maintenance work continues, he added
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had instructed provincial officials to reduce their energy consumption by 30 percent. It was decided to close the restaurants at 22:00 and the markets at 20:30.