KHAPLU, (Gilgit Baltistan): The main highway connecting Pakistan to China in the mountainous Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region remained closed for trade and traffic on Monday for the fourth consecutive day.
As per reports the demonstrators continued their sit-in protest against power outages that residents say last for almost 20 hours.
The Karakoram Highway (KKH), a vital trade route between the two countries, was obstructed by protesters on Friday at Ali Abad, a significant point in the Hunza Valley.
Protesters were enraged by frequent power outages in GB. The area has witnessed a gradual increase in trade activity following an agreement between Pakistan and China to keep the Khunjerab Pass open year-round to facilitate economic exchanges.
Hamid Hussain, an engineer at the Gilgit Baltistan Water and Power Department, last week blamed technical reasons for the power outages. He said the region heavily relied on hydropower, which often faced disruption in winter due to the freezing of rivers and lakes.
Various political parties such as the Awami Workers Party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), members of the civil society and trade associations joined hands to stage the sit-in protest at the highway on Friday. Despite the freezing temperature, the sit-in protests have continued since then.
“All rounds of negotiations with the government have failed and we are still facing the worst kind of power crisis,” Zahoor Ilahi, a member of the core committee formed by protesters said.
“We will not end the protest until our demands are met. Though our demands are to permanently resolve the power crisis, however, if they agree to run thermal generators to minimize power cuts, a consensus will be developed to end the protest,” he added.
GB an impoverished, mountainous part of the larger Kashmir region, is home to 127 hydel and 34 thermal stations but the region continues to suffer one of the worst power outages in the South Asian country. Khuzaima Anwar, Hunza’s Deputy Commissioner, admitted the protesters’ demands were “genuine.” “The people have been protesting for power crisis since last Friday and their demands for the long-term uplifting of power projects are genuine,” Anwar said.
He said the district administration engaged with protesters twice since Friday and acknowledged their demands.
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