QUETTA, April 12: The Balochistan Zamindar Action Committee (BZAC) staged a rally here on Wednesday in protest against power shortage and gave a one-week deadline to the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) to restore supply to their areas.

The protesting farmers also threatened to block national highways if their demands were not met soon. The BZAC members led by their chairman Agha Taj Muhammad took out a procession from Al-Gailani road and assembled outside the press club.

Haji Wali Raisani, Haji Abdur Rehman Bazai, Mir Noor Ahmed and Sattar Shah addressed the protesters.

The speakers said they had no political designs against anyone but the situation had forced them to come out on roads. They claimed that the non-supply of electricity was creating water shortage and affecting crop yields.

They said the elements attacking electricity pylons were their enemies. They criticised the government for its failure to protect sensitive installations. They also slammed the Qesco administration for sending inflated bills to consumers.—Correspondent