Violent protest staged against loadshedding in Takht Bhai

TAKHT BHAI: The prolonged power loadshedding in Takht Bhai tehsil of the Mardan district led to violent protest that left two cops injured, sources said. The sources said hundreds of residents of Sari Bahlol and other areas of Takht Bhai staged a sit-in on the Malakand Road after the Isha prayer to protest excessive loadshedding and blocked it for traffic. The protesters chanted slogans against the government and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) for the prolonged and unscheduled power outages.

Protesters burnt tyres on the road, disrupting traffic to and from Malakand division for two hours. The police rushed to the scene and started baton-charging the protesters to reopen the road. The use of force angered the protesters who pelted the police with stones and bricks. Two constables, Khalid Khan and Jalal Khan, were injured in the clashes. They were shifted to the Mardan Medical Complex.

Police later fired warning shots and resorted to tear gas shelling to break up the protest. A total of 40 protesters were arrested while 49 others who were wanted for an investigation into the incident were still at large. The relatives of the arrested people threatened to block the road again if their near and dear ones were not released.