Protest in Karachi Calls for Action on Continued Loadshedding in Historic Quarters
Citizens of Lyari, joined by Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation, staged a protest rally in Karachi on Sunday against prolonged power outages affecting the old city areas.
Starting from Ath Chowk at 2pm amid intense heat, the rally wound through various routes to reach the Karachi Press Club (KPC). Earlier, Faisal Edhi briefly participated in the protest in Lyari.
Addressing the media during the rally, Mr. Edhi expressed concern over the reported deaths, allegedly due to heatstroke, in Karachi. He disputed the government’s official figures, claiming that the Edhi Foundation’s mortuaries were filled with bodies, indicating a higher toll than reported.
He demanded that deaths suspected to be heat-related should be thoroughly investigated, with compensation provided to the families of the victims.
At KPC, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MPA Sajjad Soomro also joined the demonstrators. Leaders from the non-governmental organization Lyari Bachao Tehreek, including Sabir Baloch, Parveen Naz, and Bashir Baloch, highlighted the severe impact of up to 18 hours of daily loadshedding over the past four months. They emphasized the mental and educational toll on youth unable to prepare for exams.
According to the speakers, recent days saw a reported 1,076 deaths in Karachi from suspected heatstroke, with a majority occurring in areas experiencing prolonged power cuts.
The protesters called for the cancellation of KE’s license and threatened civil disobedience actions, including non-payment of bills and symbolic acts like burning electric meters across the city, to escalate their protest against the electricity provider.
