CHITRAL: The protest against ‘inflated’ electricity bills issued by the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) entered its second day at Ramdas Chowk, keeping the strategic Chitral-Shandur Road largely blocked.
The protesters opened the highway for one hour on Saturday evening, allowing hundreds of stranded passengers to proceed to their destinations.
Earlier, a police contingent led by the district police officer attempted to disperse the crowd and clear the road. However, the crackdown failed due to severe resistance from the demonstrators.
The standoff intensified after a large number of women joined the sit-in at the protest site.
Local administrative officials admitted that the presence of women had made it deeply complicated to initiate clearance operations.
Demonstrators expressed resentment against KP Assembly Deputy Speaker Suriya Bibi and criticised her for failing to visit the area despite currently being present in Chitral.
They demanded that elected representatives and the provincial government take immediate notice of the inflated billing and grant relief to the consumers of Reshun.
Former Reshun village council chairman Ashfaq Ahmed told this correspondent that the one-hour suspension of the blockade was a one-time relaxation for stranded travelers. He warned that the road would remain completely closed until their demands were met.
Repeated efforts ended in failure to contact Suriya Bibi to know her version as she did not respond to the phone calls on her cell phone.
Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026
