Deputy chief of the party Sirajul Haq, provincial president Prof Mohammad Ibraheem Khan, vice-president Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, general secretary Shabbir Ahmad Khan and others led the protest rally.

Thousands of JI workers from the provincial capital and adjacent districts and tribal areas participated in the protest. The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with anti-government slogans. They were also holding lanterns attached to placards inscribed with slogans of “Gone are the days of electricity!”

It may be recalled that lantern was the election symbol of the Awami National Party (ANP), which is ruling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is part of the coalition government in the centre and also in Sindh and Balochistan.

The JI leaders said the ANP had promised the people during their election campaign to provide 100 units electricity free of cost besides ensuring uninterrupted power supply. They said the ANP-led government instead had pushed the people of the province back to the age of lantern.

Led by JI leaders standing in a truck, the protest procession started from the Hashtnagri Chowk and culminated at the Ashraf Road after passing through the main GT Road in the scorching heat.

Speaking at the protest meeting, Sirajul Haq criticised the prime minister and the ANP-led provincial government for their failure to provide basic facilities to the people. He said the ruling ANP has failed to protect the rights of Pakhtuns and to keep their words for providing free electricity to the people.

He said they would besiege the Governor House and Chief Minister House and oust the rulers from there if the government failed to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

Prof Mohammad Ibraheem Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was producing three times more electricity than its needs at a cost of less than Re1 per unit, but still the consumers in the province were suffering the worst loadshedding.