Demonstrations in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against excessive power outages

Pakistan's economy is facing the worst-ever crisis in history as people are facing daunting challenges of power outages, acute shortage of wheat and skyrocketing prices as the people fast in the holy month of Ramzan.

Residents of Samarbagh tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday held a protest rally against excessive power outages and shortage of staff at the Nadra and BISP offices, Dawn reported.

The protesters blocked the main Shahi Road and raised slogans against the government for its failure to address their demands. Samarbagh tehsil chairman Saeed Ahmad, Haji Rehman, Hameed Khan and others addressed the rally, as per the Dawn report.

Saeed Ahmad warned that people would lock the BISP and Nadra offices if the required staff will not be deployed there.

The others speakers expressed regret that the poor people, including women, were being humiliated as they had to stand in long queues for hours for receiving a 10-kilogram flour bag, which was also of substandard quality.

During the protest, the speakers at the rally said that the government has not been able to control the profiteering and hoarding in Ramazan, making it difficult for the poor to make both ends meet, as per the Dawn report.

They said that the prices of fruits and vegetables were beyond the purchasing power of common people. The speakers said that the people of Darangal, Miskini, Asharkor, Tettar and Barchonai had no power supply for the past three days. The protesters dispersed after additional assistant commissioner Nauman Pervez held talks with them.

Meanwhile, residents in the Kohat region of Pakistan have been braving prolonged suspension of gas and electricity since the beginning of Ramazan, Dawn reported. People have started complaining regarding the prolonged suspension of gas and electricity in Kohat.

The prolonged suspension of gas and electricity has dashed the consumers' hopes of a "smooth" supply in the fasting month as promised by the government, as per the news report.

Sajid Islam, a local resident, said the Peshawar High Court had said that the residents of a gas-producing district should get the facility uninterrupted, as per the news report. However, Sajid Islam stressed that Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) was violating the court orders.

Residents of both urban and rural regions have complained that the gas supply was suspended from 10 pm till 10 am in the morning. Another resident named Hadi said that consumers were in a bind since the beginning of Ramazan as they were facing prolonged electricity load-shedding. (ANI)