Pakistan: Police baton-charge women protesting against prolonged load-shedding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], September 28 : Police in Pakistan baton-charged women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Charsadda town on Tuesday for staging a protest and blocking the road against the excessive gas and electricity load shedding, local media reported.
The protesting women set the tyre on fire. The protests were held in different areas, including Mirzagan, Bhoosakhel and Azizkhel, against prolonged power load shedding and low gas pressure, Dawn reported.
After prolonged and unscheduled power outages, Charsadda city is now facing gas load shedding. Protesters said that the prices of essential items were rising, while on the other, gas and electricity outages had paralysed their life.
They said prices of LPG were out of their reach, and also criticised the elected representatives for keeping 'mum' over the excessive gas and electricity load shedding, reported Dawn.
Later, the women ended the protest at the request of traffic officials.
However, they threatened to hold another protest on Wednesday (today) if gas and electricity outages were done away with.
Earlier, on September 23, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protested in Lahore against the price hike, joblessness, load shedding, inflated power bills and massive taxes in the country, local media reported.
The workers of Imran Khan's party were carrying party flags as the protest rally on cars and motorbikes went marching from Liberty Chowk to the Governor House, as per Dawn.
People protested in different parts of Pakistan's Karachi due to the unannounced and prolonged load shedding, local media reported.
ARY News reported that residents participated in protests in different areas of Karachi after an unannounced and prolonged load shedding in the city.
On August 12, frustrated by prolonged and unannounced load shedding, angry residents of Sachal Goth marched towards the K-Electric (KE) office and attacked it.
The protestors had pelted stones at the KE office and broke the windows of its vehicles. On their way to the office, the protestors also burnt tyres against the prolonged load shedding, reported ARY News.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz said the federal government was making all-out efforts to revive the stalled power plants to put an end to the huge energy crisis faced by the country, reported Geo News.
Pakistan already has two long-term supply deals with Qatar -- the first signed in 2016 for five cargoes a month, and the second in 2021, under which Pakistan currently gets three monthly shipments but the nation is currently under a massive grip of widespread power outrages as procurement of the chilled fuel remains unreliable and expensive due to its increased reliance on LNG for electricity generation.
The fast depletion of the foreign exchange reserves was the result of Pakistan's inflation of twin deficits, and a lack of foreign currency inflows.