PESHAWAR: The members of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Union on Wednesday boycotted their duties and held protest demonstrations for safe recovery of their abducted colleagues.
They warned of province-wide strike, power shutdown if their demands were not accepted forthwith.
The All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union blamed both past and present rulers for the destruction of the water and power development authority (Wapda), accusing them of dividing the national institution, inflicting irreparable loss on the national exchequer.
The protest was held across all divisional headquarters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of a nationwide demonstration against the proposed privatisation of the Wapda, the non-recovery of abducted Pesco employees from Bannu, unjustified delay in recruitments, and the skyrocketing inflation and unemployment in the country.
Protesters decry Wapda ‘privatisation’, inflation, unemployment
In Peshawar, the main protest demonstration was held outside Peshawar Press Club, where hundreds of Wapda workers participated under the leadership of provincial chairman Haji Muhammad Iqbal, secretary Noorul Amin Haiderzai, deputy chairman Shafiullah, central chairman Gohar Taj, information secretary Gohar Ali Gohar, regional secretary Tesco Liaqat Ali, chief coordinator Tesco Pir Durrani, and zonal chairman GSO Abdul Jabbar Khan.
The protesters marched in a rally and chanted slogans against the federal government, denouncing privatisation of Wapda, rising inflation, and unemployment.
Addressing the gathering, the provincial chairman said the present and former rulers were equally responsible for the downfall of the Wapda. “By dividing Wapda into separate entities, the rulers have caused massive financial loss to the country,” they alleged.
The union secretary said that the government’s agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for expensive electricity were the key reason for the current power crisis, inflation, and severe load-shedding. “The nation is now paying the price for these anti-people policies in the form of unbearable power tariffs and prolonged outages,” he added.
The speakers said that despite severe staff shortages and deteriorating law and order, the reduced field staff was working day and night to maintain the power system. They noted that every year, hundreds of Wapda workers lose their lives in the line of duty while ensuring electricity supply to the public.
The union leaders warned the government and the ministry of energy to immediately withdraw the privatisation plan of Wapda and fill vacant posts in all three distribution companies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They demanded the safe recovery of five Pesco employees, who were abducted from the Bannu Cantonment Police Station area on September 12, and urged the government to take emergency steps to control inflation and unemployment.
The union also called for solarisation of government institutions, cancellation of costly IPP contracts, and construction of new hydel power stations to provide affordable electricity and alleviate the suffering caused by power outages.
The leaders warned that if the government failed to meet their demands, the Wapda workers across the province would launch a complete strike and suspend electricity supply as a last resort.
Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2025
