Mardan   -  The office bearers of Markaz-e-Tanzeem- e-Tajiran (MTT- Ehsanullah Bacha Group) expressed deep grief over the unabated increase in electricity prices and unscheduled excessive load-shedding on Tuesday. They announced a phased protest demonstration across the district in response to these issues.

During a news conference at Mardan press club, MTT President Ehsanullah Bacha, along with Mushtaq Seemab, Haji Muazullah, Ghulam Hussain Saraf, Ghulam Habib Salazai, Haji Islam, Haji Altaf, Lali, Kaka, Sher Qayyum, and others expressed their concerns. They criticized the lack of empathy and fear of Allah in the hearts of the ruling authorities. They emphasized that the rising electricity prices had forced many impoverished individuals to sell their houses to pay their bills, while the elites in the Parliament passed multiple bills to increase their salaries and privileges without providing any relief to the common people.

The speakers highlighted the adverse impact of unabated electricity and gas load-shedding and increased utility bills on traders’ lives. The prolonged power outages caused severe difficulties for traders, with transformers frequently burning out, leading to traders having to repair them at their own expense.

The office bearers accused PESCO officials of neglecting the issues faced by the people and behaving like rulers. They also pointed out that 300 lineman positions in Mardan remained vacant, which contributed to the ongoing difficulties faced by the public.

The traders threatened to launch a protest movement against PESCO officials if their behaviour did not improve, and if the demands of the traders were not met.

They outlined a phased protest plan, starting with the installation of black flags in their shops in the first phase, followed by a convention of all traders in the district in the second phase, a shutter-down strike in the third phase, and finally announcing a boycott of paying electricity bills in the last phase, holding PESCO responsible for the consequences.