Power fairness

Being a student in Peshawar, I cannot help but notice how fair treatment in this city seems to depend on the postal code. While posh areas enjoy almost uninterrupted power, the rest of us spend our days and nights navigating frequent unannounced loadshedding. This kind of inequality feels deeply unjust. It is hard to focus on our future when even basic necessities like electricity are so uncertain. In our hostel, power goes out for at least eight to 10 hours a day. It is frustrating, but still nothing compared to what my family endures back home in our village in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where outages stretch up to 18 to 20 hours daily.

We keep hearing that areas with better bill recovery get better treatment. But is it fair to punish us because of a system plagued by inefficiencies and unchecked electricity theft? Those of us who pay our bills and still suffer feel like we are caught in someone else’s wrongdoing. I urge the provincial authorities to rethink how loadshedding is managed and target those who do not pay their bills instead of their neighbours. Let there be reform in bill collection and action against theft. All we ask for is fairness, an end to collective punishment and a few more hours of light. This is only our right.

Nasir Ali Khan

Peshawar