NOWSHERA/KARAK: The residents of Ziarat Kaka Sahib and adjacent villages in Nowshera blocked GT Road to protest unscheduled power loadshedding and over-billing while the local jirga of Karak decided to besiege the office of Pesco in the district.

The protesters in Nowshera, thousands in number, were led by district councillor Mian Zahoorud Din Kakakhel, JI leaders Alhaj Pervez Khan and Pir Zulfiqar Bacha, Manahi nazim Sher Aslam, ANP leader Haji Akram Shah, Advocate Numanud Din, Mufti Imtiaz Ali and Haji Fazalur Rehman.

The protesters blocked GT Road to traffic at Shobera Chowk for hours. They chanted slogans against government.

They leaders of the protesters said that government suspended power supply to different villages of Khattak Nama and Ziarat Kaka Sahib. They said that they were paying inflated bills and unjustified fines but they were deprived of power. They said that power suspension caused shortage of water in the area.

The protesters dispersed peacefully when Assistant Commissioner Jamshed Khan and ASDO assured them of accepting their demand.

Meanwhile, Pesco disconnected power supply to the district council hall for not paying bill since long.

In Karak, the local jirga in a meeting decided to besiege the offices of Pesco in the district to protest power loadshedding.

The meeting was presided over by former MPA Sharif Khattak. People from all walks of life attended the meeting.

JUI-S leader Maulana Sabz Ali, PML-N leader Mian Ikhlaq, Sharif Khattak, village nazim Ihsanullah and others addressed the meeting. They showed concerns over the unscheduled loadshedding.

The speakers said that majority of the people were paying monthly bills regularly but Pesco was not supplying electricity to them. They said prolonged loadshedding caused shortage of water in the district.

They claimed that people were ready to pay the power bills but Pesco authorities were not sincere in resolving the issue. They set one-week deadline for Pesco to end power loadshedding.

The speakers said that they would launch an awareness campaign in the district about the proposed protest. They said that they would besiege the local offices of Pesco if their demand was not met within a week.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2018