Dozens of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers led by local MPA Fazal Elahi stormed the Rehman Baba grid station in the Hazar Khwani area of the city on Saturday. After yesterday's attack, Fazal Elahi once again reached Rehman Baba grid station with companions and exchanged harsh arguments with the administration. Heavy contingents of police deployed at the grid station to control an untoward incident.
Despite a large police presence on the site, the PTI workers managed to enter parts of the 132-KV grid station. The protesters demanded to resume the supply of electricity to their areas and put an end to load shedding. The protesters complained that the government was receiving taxes from the people but in return has failed to provide the basic facilities.
Amid slogans chanted by the PTI workers against the government, Fazal alleged that PESCO was running its affairs on the directions of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Amir Muqam and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman. He said that the protest will continue till unannounced load shedding ends. Threatening the government of seizing the grid station, he said if the government would not provide electricity, they would take it by themselves. Responding to the incident, PESCO spokesperson on Saturday said that load shedding being made in areas where they are facing 70 percent losses. He expressed his helplessness in the situation.
He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government is behind the attack that was carried on the Rehman Baba grid station by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Fazal Elahi and his followers. The spokesperson also accused provincial lawmaker Fazal Elahi of provoking hooliganism among people. The PTI MPA could not still be arrested after the attack, and police doing nothing in the regard.
It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government had written a letter to Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure security of power grid stations and other installations of Wapda across the province. On Friday, a similar horde of PTI workers, led by the same MPA, had attacked several grid stations in the city and forcefully switched on the closed power feeders to their areas after entering the premises.
Later, reports stated that PESCO officials registered an FIR against the PTI MPA at the Yakatoot police station. However, any action is yet to be taken against the MPA and his comrades. It is worth mentioning here that protestors under the leadership of Fazal Elahi stormed into the grid station and turned on electricity supply to all feeders on Friday. Participants also held protest rally and chanted slogans of 'Go Nawaz Go' inside the grid station.
Protesters said they have returned and resorted to similar action after load-shedding resumed following the conclusion of their protest on Friday. Earlier, PTI workers pulled off a 'people's coup' after an elected local government official along with party workers spent Friday night at Taj Abad grid station of the city after taking control of it earlier in the day.
The PTI workers, led by the local nazim, also consumed their Sehri meal at the station, as large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observing the first day of Ramazan from Saturday. Sources claimed that the intruders disrupted PESCO's load-shedding schedule, and continued the supply of electricity to high-loss areas - contrary to PESCO's procedures. In the morning, the intruders left the premises for their homes and the facility was taken over by PESCO once again.
Meanwhile, the local authorities have arrested CM's advisor Shakeel Khan and MPA Junaid Akbar for alleged ransacking of the PESCO office in Malakand on Saturday. According to reports, the PTI leaders were leading protesters, who ransacked the PESCO office and torched office furniture and records during the protest against load shedding.
The levies personnel took the PTI leaders into custody for ransacking the PESCO office. The PTI is the ruling party in the province; however, PESCO is run by the federal government, led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. There have been several protests against the power utility this year as load-shedding continues across the province.
However, PESCO officials claim they have to cut power supply to areas with extremely high line losses to manage the load. The protestors said as they left the grid station and returned to their homes in the morning load-shedding resumed.
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