PESHAWAR - Quami Watan Party (QWP) Provincial Chairman, Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, on Sunday expressed concern over the unannounced and unscheduled loadshedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said that the people would be compelled to take to the streets if they were not provided relief. "We will also be compelled to lead protests against power outages," he remarked in a statement. He said excessive power outages have made life miserable for the people during the holy month of Ramazan. He regretted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been exposed to prolonged outages that had brought life to a standstill.
Sherpao, who is also Khyber Pakhtunkhwa senior minister, said the duration of the power outages was higher in the rural areas as compared to urban areas. He said the electricity was the lifeline for the socio-economic development of the country, but the unjustified power breakdown had slowed down mercantile activities. The QWP leader said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been subjected to worst loadshedding despite producing cheap hydel electricity. He said that loadshedding should be carried out according to schedule, as it would help the people cope with the situation. He said the plan announcement by the federal government that no loadshedding would take place during Sehr, Iftar and Taraweeh prayer timings in Ramazan couldn't be materialised and the people continued facing power cuts, which was deplorable.