Unannounced power cuts: PTI MNA ‘ransacks’ grid station

NOWSHERA: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Member National Assembly (MNA) Zulfiqar Khan on Saturday warned the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials to end the unannounced power cuts or else he would table a privilege motion in the National Assembly.

Addressing protesters, who had gathered outside the Pabbi Grid Station to protest the unannounced and prolonged loadshedding, he said that he would launch a protest movement against Pesco if the power cuts continued.

Zulfiqar Khan accused the federal government of punishing the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for giving a mandate to the PTI.

According to officials at the grid station, Zulfiqar Khan and his supporters allegedly vandalized the office property and destroyed official records during the protest at the grid station.

The protest, led by Zulfiqar Khan, escalated when the grid station staff failed to comply with his demands to restore power supply.

Frustrated by what he described as deliberate delays, Zulfiqar Khan reportedly lashed out at both the officials and federal government, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Eyewitnesses claimed that he tore up the registers and other documents at the grid station, accusing Pesco’s management of exploiting the public to cover up their inefficiencies.

Zulfiqar Khan demanded an end to unannounced loadshedding, warning that PTI workers would besiege Wapda offices if the issue was not resolved. “Stop punishing the people for political reasons,” he said.

Meanwhile, Afsar Ali, a grid station official, alleged that Zulfiqar Khan and his supporters damaged telephone sets, equipment, registers, UPS batteries, and personal belongings.

He claimed the protesters used abusive language, issued threats, and chanted slogans against the federal government. An employee, Samiullah, reportedly had his mobile phone broken during the chaos. In response, XEN Nasir Zaman Afridi submitted a written request to Pabbi Police Station, seeking the registration of an FIR against Zulfiqar Khan and his supporters.

Despite receiving the request, police officials said that no FIR had been registered so far.

When contacted, an official of Pabbi Police Station said, “We have received the complaint, but no formal FIR has been lodged so far.”