Pak-Afghan Highway blocked to protest power outages

JAMRUD: Kukikhel tribesmen staged a protest on Monday against electricity load-shedding and reduction in electricity duration by blocking the Pak-Afghan Highway in front of the Jamrud grid station.

The electricity issue prompted Kukikhel elders to convene a jirga in the Jamrud tehsil. Led by area elders including Malik Naseer Ahmad, Malik Salahuddin, and Abdul Manan, among others, the leaders engaged in discussions with Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco) and district administration officials.

Initial talks failed to yield results, leading the tribesmen to establish a protest camp, thus blocking the Pak-Afghan Highway.They demanded a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of electricity supply and vowed to continue the protest until their demands were met.

Following negotiations between the management, Tesco officials, and Kukikhel tribe elders, an agreement was reached.Tesco agreed to revert to the old schedule, providing 4 hours of electricity supply, which led to the end of the protest.