SWABI: The sit-in staged by the Action Committee against prolonged and unannounced electricity load-shedding outside the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) office in Swabi entered its seventh consecutive day on Sunday, with the committee vowing to continue the protest until its demands are accepted.
A consultative meeting was held at Adda Mosque in Swabi and was attended by representatives of the Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Pakistan People’s Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, Qaumi Watan Party, Awami Workers Party, traders’ associations, lawyers, and journalists.
Speaking at the “Meet the Press” programme at the Swabi Press Club after the meeting, Action Committee spokesperson Saleem Khan Advocate said that, after consultations with all parties and stakeholders, it had been decided that the sit-in at the Pesco office would continue until the demands were met. He added that Eidul Azha would also be observed at the protest camp.
Saleem Khan Advocate said that zero load-shedding was the right of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly Swabi, as around 70 percent of Swabi’s electricity was supplied to other parts of the country, while the district itself generated 18 megawatts of electricity.
He alleged that locally generated electricity was being diverted to factories in Punjab and Sindh.
He added that leaders of the ruling party were themselves protesting despite being responsible for resolving the problems.
