MANSEHRA: Residents of Upper Kohistan district, including traders, staged a sit-in and blocked the Karakoram Highway for the third consecutive day on Wednesday against Wapda for failing to provide electricity to their region from a local grid station.

“People of Kohistan are still without electricity despite Wapda’s announcement that uninterrupted power would be supplied through the grid station established in the Chuchang area,” said Maulana Uzair, a protest leader, while addressing the sit-in participants in the Kamila area.

The KKH blockade suspended traffic within the district and between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

They raised slogans against Wapda, demanding the immediate supply.

“Most parts of our district are still without electricity. People have been relying on power generated through local turbines, many of which were washed away during the recent floods, adding to our hardships,” Mr Uzair said.

Motorists and passengers remained stranded in their vehicles on both sides of the KKH.

Maulana Umar, another protest leader, said that the people had decided to block the KKH and stage a sit-in daily from 5pm to 10pm during the coming week. He warned that if their demands were not met, they would expand their protest movement.

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Siffat Khan, a trade leader, said the business community was also suffering due to the unavailability of electricity.

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2026