Unannounced load shedding forced people to take to the streets to protest across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.
Protesters, led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Fazal Elahi, staged a demonstration on Peshawar’s Ring Road. As a result, the traffic flow in area was halted for almost two hours. Earlier, for the past several days, the MPA has been leading protesters into grid stations in Peshawar and forcefully turning back on supply of power to their areas.
A heavy contingent of police also reached the site but no major incident of violence was reported.
“Leaders don’t care about people’s problems,” remarked Elahi. If load shedding does not end, then we will again come out on the streets.
"The protests will be held wherever load shedding occurs. For this purpose, all the MPAs of the province will be called for help," he shared.
The protest was called off after Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) officials assured the demonstrators that their problems will be solved. Elahi also met with PESCO officials and made them aware of the protesters’ demands.
The meeting ended with Pesco officials agreeing that load shedding will be held for 14 hours, as opposed to the usual 18 to 20 hours, and that electricity will be provided to people during Seher and Iftar time.
Protest turns violent in Malakand Agency
Meanwhile, protesters barged into the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) office in Malakand Agency’s Dargai area on Monday.
The mob set fire to computers and furniture inside the office.
The traffic to the area was also blocked as a result of the protest. Consequently, levies officials reached the site to disperse the protesters.
In a statement, a PESCO spokesperson said protesters burnt records stored in the office of the XEN [executive engineer] and SDOs [sub-divisional officers] and also broke windows of officials’ cars.
The spokesperson added that a jirga has been formed to discuss the main issues regarding electricity.
Protest in Charsadda
A similar protest was also staged in Umarzai area of Charsadda. The protesters blocked the Tangi-Charsadda Road, which affected traffic flow.
The protesters warned that they will storm into the WAPDA office if electricity is not restored within an hour.
