The Knowledge Forum

The Knowledge Forum (TKF) team, accompanied by a representative from its partner organization, the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), met with the President of Pakistan Peoples Party (Sindh), Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, at his residence in DHA Karachi on June 6, 2026. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Peoples Labour Bureau, Mr. Habibuddin Junaidi.
During the meeting, TKF presented the Charter of Demands jointly developed by the Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy (ACJCE) and the Pakistan Renewable Energy Coalition (PREC), highlighting the urgent need for a just and sustainable energy transition in Pakistan.
TKF Director Ms. Zeenia Shaukat underscored Sindh's immense potential in renewable energy, particularly solar and wind power, and emphasized the importance of harnessing these resources to address Pakistan's ongoing energy challenges. She noted that the recent war between the United States and Iran has led to a rise in global oil prices, significantly impacting Pakistan's energy sector and contributing to increased costs of fuel, electricity, and gas. These rising costs, she stressed, have placed an additional burden on ordinary citizens.
Mr. Khuhro acknowledged Sindh's leading role in the country's energy production and its contribution to supplying electricity nationwide. He agreed that the province's vast solar and wind energy potential should be fully utilized to reduce electricity costs, strengthen energy security, and help eliminate prolonged load-shedding.
Mr. Habibuddin Junaidi and Mr. Abbas Haider of PILER also highlighted the challenges faced by workers and low-income communities, who continue to suffer the economic and social consequences of persistent power outages.
Alliance for Climate Justice & Clean Energy

Early in April 2026, we, at The Knowledge Forum met MPA Rehan Bandukda, Chairperson of Energy Committee, Sindh Assembly. TKF presented a briefing to the Chairperson Energy Committee, Sindh Assembly on key issues related to energy access, and energy justice in Sindh. Given the importance of Sindh in energy production (both in fossil fuel and utility scale variable renewables), and the acutely compromised status of access, the role of public representatives in championing the case for clean and affordable energy for the province is critical.

While Sindh produced the bulk of coal and gas driving industries and transport, and serving households, its access to electricity – as shared in the Pakistan Energy Survey 2022 - is revealing. According to the report,

Balochistan and Sindh have the highest electricity access deficit, with more than 30 percent of households falling into Tiers 0 and 1 (no access and available on 4 hours a day)

No access to electricity is highest in Sindh at 7.3%, even higher than the ratio of 2.6% in Balochistan.

This has an acute impact on quality of life, livelihood including industrial production and employment generation, and people’s resilience to growing heat.

MPA Rehan Bandukda patiently listened to our evidence based position on the need for clean energy acceleration in Sindh. Coming from a business background, his emphasis remains on the need for addressing means to absorb excess capacity. He also highlighted the need for a plan for jobs lost as sun sets on fossil fuels. The role of public sector technical education institutions in helping with the switch to green jobs also came under discussion

We also discussed the need for women representation in the Energy Committee which currently stands at zero. (An encouraging development has taken place on that front recently).

Being in this journey of advocacy on clean energy in Sindh for well over two years, we feel that the channel of dialogue with public representatives is a critical pathway for a just energy transition. While public representative need convincing with the help of robust knowledge for forcefully making the case for clean energy – as a public welfare agenda – the current community led solarisation underscores the need for faster action on policy and legislation to capture the gains on clean energy.
TKF appreciates Mr. Bandukda's valuable time and engagement on these critical issues and look forward to continued dialogue on advancing sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy for all Pakistanis.

On 22 May 2026, The Knowledge Forum (TKF) team met with Sindh Assembly members, including Leader of the Opposition Khurshidi, Musarrat Jabeen, Mehboob, Najam Mirza, and Mahesh Kumar Haseja, to present the Citizen’s Energy Security Charter 2026 and discussed the growing challenges of load shedding, energy affordability, and electricity access across Sindh including Karachi.
The Charter outlines key budgetary and policy recommendations aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s energy security through renewable energy expansion, grid modernization, battery storage, support for distributed solar, electric mobility, and equitable access to energy for all citizens.
The discussion emphasized the urgent need for practical solutions to prolonged load shedding, protection of consumer rights, and a just energy transition that delivers affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to households and businesses.
We thank the honorable legislators for their time and engagement and look forward to continued collaboration for a cleaner, fairer, and more resilient energy future.

The Knowledge Forum (TKF) hosted a multi-stakeholder consultation titled “Energy Security in a Post Iran–USA War Context” in Karachi, bringing together parliamentarians, industrialists, energy experts, labour representatives, and civil society leaders to discuss Pakistan’s worsening energy crisis and its impact on citizens and businesses.

Participants raised serious concerns over prolonged loadshedding, soaring electricity bills, and the growing economic pressure on industries and households across the city. Business leaders warned that rising power costs and unreliable electricity supply are making Pakistani industries increasingly uncompetitive, forcing many manufacturers and SMEs to explore costly alternatives simply to remain operational.

Speakers highlighted that the crisis is not only affecting industries, but also deeply impacting working-class families, many of whom continue to face excessive billing and extended outages despite paying their electricity bills regularly.

During the consultation, TKF also presented Pakistan’s Energy Security Charter, which called for urgent investment in renewable energy, removal of taxes on solar and battery storage systems, restoration of the previous net-metering regime, and a transition away from costly imported fossil fuels towards affordable and citizen-centered energy solutions.

MPAs Rehan Bandukda, Farah Sohail, and Dr. Fouzia Hameed assured participants that issues related to excessive loadshedding, industrial decline, and consumer protection would be raised at the Sindh Assembly.

The consultation also emphasised the urgent need for renewable energy adoption, improved transmission infrastructure, stronger consumer protections, and climate-resilient energy planning for Pakistan’s future.

The message from stakeholders was clear: affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is essential for economic stability, industrial growth, and public well-being.

Climate Action Center KarachiAlliance for Climate Justice & Clean EnergySindh Government

Watch live May Day Webinar by TKF

MayDay_Webinar The Knowledge Forum organised a webinar titled “Honouring Workers,...

Invitation: May Day Webinar on Thursday

You are warmly invited to join a special May Day webinar hosted by The Knowledge Forum.
Title: Honouring Workers, Advancing Rights: A May Day Dialogue
Date & Time: April 30, 2026 | 3:00–4:00 PM
Platform: Zoom
This session will bring together labour leaders, human rights advocates, and civil society voices to reflect on workers’ contributions, discuss current challenges, and explore ways to advance labour rights.

Speakers include:
Key Speakers:
1. Nasir Mansoor, Secretary General, National Trade Union Federation
2. Farhat Perveen, NOW Communities
3. Muhammad Rafique Ahmed, Labour rights and human rights expert
4. Akram Khaskheli, Chairman of Sindh Hari Association

Join us for an engaging and meaningful dialogue on building fair, safe, and equitable workplaces.

Zoom Link: available on demand.

Earth Day is observed every year on April 22. Earth Day 2026 carries a powerful message: “Our Power. Our Planet.”
It is a call for people everywhere to come together and drive real environmental change. This year’s focus urges a global shift toward renewable energy, with the goal of tripling clean electricity by 2030, while also encouraging citizens to actively defend environmental protections through civic participation and advocacy.
The agenda of this year’s Earth Day is important. Because it acknowledges the role and the power of civic engagement in arresting the environmental decline whose manifestation in climate change is felt by the most marginalized sections of the society. It also is a call that for a justice-based shift to renewable energy, civil society will have to play a greater role, and for that to happen, the state and other stakeholders must provide the civil society a conducive environment.
Around the world, collective action has proven its impact by influencing environmental standards and ensuring they are implemented. While local initiatives such as waste reduction, and water conservation are helping communities build resilience, a truly impactful shift may come from responding to the demands of the communities resisting large-scale infrastructure, fossil fuels projects. These have little justification in the era of renewables. In Pakistan, communities in Tharparkar, Sanghar, Karachi’s coastline, Swat, and Balochistan have been consistently pointing to the cost of fossil fuels, hydro and non RE projects on the local ecology. Rejecting their narrative to support a redundant technology is costing not only financially (capacity payment, stranded cost risks) but also condemning a large section of the population to poverty and lifelong incapacity to live a fulfilling life.
Environmental challenges do not stop at borders, and neither should solutions. Protecting the planet today helps prevent future crises, economic disruptions, and social instability. This Earth Day is a reminder that civil society, local movements and communities are at the centre of the drive towards clean energy. Their voice and representation is the single most important component critical to shaping a more sustainable and secure future for all.

Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Examines Energy Access Inequities

The current state of energy insecurity has brutally exposed the limits of relying on expensive and problematic fuel sources such as oil, gas/RLNG, coal and even nuclear. While the community led solarization in Pakistan has been the biggest blessing, preventing Pakistan from falling into the state of distress like its neighbors, the fact remains that the government still seems unconvinced of an
aggressive shift to RE. This must be done! Not (only) because RE is in abundance in Pakistan, but because there is no justification of exposing Pakistan to external shocks and crippling the local
population’s capacity to grow and thrive as a society.
In this regard, TKF and allies strongly feel that the province of Sindh can play a major role in leading the RE drive of Pakistan. It has capacity, functional RE plants both at utility scale and distributed levels, its government is keen to expand RE through community solarisation and G2B plans. However, there is
need for more participation, collaboration and partnerships if Sindh is to make use of the gap arising out of the state of energy insecurity in the region. However, solarisation must not just be clean, it needs to be just too.
In this regard, the role of public representatives is critical. Being the major safeguards of public interest, MPAs direct participation in planning, driving and monitoring of RE delivery systems can ensure that public issues are highlighted and addressed in project design, public’s say is incorporated in projects and most importantly projects are monitored to ensure they deliver on their promise.
We were not thinking this way earlier, but our discussion with women MPAs late last year opened our eyes to the importance of parliamentary involvement in energy planning.
The Knowledge Forum organised a multi-stakeholder dialogue in Karachi on December 16, 2025, bringing together members of the Women Parliamentary Caucus of the Sindh Assembly, civil society
representatives, and energy experts to examine Sindh’s energy challenges and transition pathways.
The discussion featured participation from Rehana Leghari (Patron, Women Parliamentary Caucus) and other members of Sindh Assembly Ms.tanzeela kambrani , Ms. Kiran Masood, Ms. Sikandar Khatoon,
Ms. Fauzia Hameed, Ms. Sajeela Leghari, Ms. Farah Sohail, and Ms. Shazia Karim. sajeela laghari
A key takeaway from the session was clear: while women are disproportionately affected by rising electricity costs, unreliable supply, and climate-related pressures, they remain underrepresented in energy decision-making. Addressing this imbalance is essential for more inclusive and effective policy outcomes.
Participants highlighted pressing structural challenges, including affordability constraints, rising demand driven by increasing temperatures, and unequal access to electricity across Sindh, particularly in off-grid and underserved areas. The social dimension of the crisis was also emphasized, with women in informal
sectors (home based work, choori industry, among others) facing heightened risks of income loss, health impacts, and energy insecurity. Insights shared by experts, including Basil Andrews, Sadya Siddiqui and Murk Larik, pointed to a growing shift toward alternative energy. The ongoing “solar rush” was noted as a positive development contributing to reduced emissions, though concerns remain around the environmental and public health costs associated with continued reliance on coal and gas.
Sindh Government
Provincial Assembly of Sindh