Power Outages, Fuel Shortage Spark Mass Protest in Qila Saifullah
**Qila Saifullah (Daily Qudrat Quetta):** On the call of the Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party (PNAP), a large and well-organized protest rally was held in Qila Saifullah against prolonged electricity outages, worsening law and order, rising drug abuse, harassment at security check posts, closure of Iranian petrol pumps, imposition of agricultural tax, and the illegal establishment of a toll plaza.
The rally, organized by PNAP Qila Saifullah district as part of its ongoing protest movement, was attended by a large number of party workers, farmers, traders and local residents. Protesters marched through various roads of the city, chanting slogans in support of their demands, and later gathered at Pakhtunistan Chowk where a major public protest meeting was held under the chairmanship of PNAP Central Secretary for Information, Muhammad Isa Roshan.
Addressing the gathering, Muhammad Isa Roshan, Central Secretary Chairman Allah Noor Khan, Provincial Secretary Finance and Chairman Municipal Committee Qila Saifullah Saeed Akbar Khan Kakar, District Secretary Finance Kamal Khan Kakar, and senior deputy secretary of PNAP Ulema Wing Qila Saifullah, Molvi Shah Khalid, said that despite being an agricultural district, Qila Saifullah is facing severe destruction and decline.
The speakers alleged that QESCO has shut down all electricity feeders in the district, completely disrupting the power system and leaving the area virtually without electricity. They said prolonged load-shedding for domestic consumers has paralyzed daily life and business activities. They also expressed serious concern over the deteriorating law and order situation and the open sale of narcotics, terming the silence of concerned institutions alarming.
The leaders said that the sealing of Iranian petrol pumps has snatched livelihoods from the public, rendering hundreds of families unemployed. They further alleged that people are being continuously harassed at FC check posts in the name of checking, severely affecting citizens’ dignity.
The speakers maintained that electricity feeders and wires installed on poles are public property funded by public money, not the property of QESCO, and accused the utility of illegally removing this equipment without any legal justification. They also alleged that wires of the national transmission line coming from Chashma — approved as an alternative power supply system for the province through the struggle of PNAP and Shaheed Usman Khan Kakar — are being stolen with alleged collusion of QESCO, demanding immediate and strict action.
They further pointed out that LPG gas plants for southern Pakhtunkhwa, approved during Shaheed Usman Khan Kakar’s tenure as senator, were never completed due to government negligence, resulting in a severe gas crisis across the region.
Concluding the protest, the speakers warned that if these public issues are not resolved immediately through serious and practical measures, the Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party will further intensify and expand its protest movement alongside the public, holding the concerned authorities fully responsible for the consequences.
