Protesters in Karachi set tyres ablaze on Tuesday after power cuts disrupted another Sehri during the holy month of Ramazan, police said, a day after two protesters were shot dead in Peshawar during a similar protest.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power four years ago promising to end load shedding — that have plagued daily life for years, hobbling the economy and deterring foreign investment.
Protests erupted on Tuesday in Karachi after electricity was cut during the pre-dawn feast. Some protesters tried to attack and set fire to an office of the K-Electric (KE), said police officer Khadim Ali.
A transmission line had tripped due to high humidity, KE claimed, adding that the load shedding would persist for two to three weeks more. It is now back to eight to 10 hours a day in some parts of Karachi.
PM Sharif called an emergency meeting of a cabinet energy panel on Tuesday to discuss the power outages. In a statement, the prime minister’s office said the meeting focused on “urgent measures” to reduce power cuts during Ramazan, which coincides this year with summer temperatures forecast in some regions at around 40 degrees Celsius.
On Monday, two demonstrators were killed in another protest against electricity shortages in Peshawar, reportedly when police fired to disperse crowds.
One of those killed was shot by police and later died in hospital in the Malakand district, said Humayun Khan, the provincial representative of the PPP. Both deaths were being investigated, said the district’s deputy commissioner, Zafa Ali Shah.