Pakistan's energy future at risk amid unchecked privatisation drive

Peshawar [Pakistan] November 7 : In a strong display of defiance, workers from all three electricity distribution companies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took to the streets to protest the federal government's push to privatise the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

The demonstrations, held on the call of the central leadership of the All Pakistan WAPDA Hydroelectric Workers Union, denounced what they termed as an anti-worker and anti-people policy by Pakistan, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, the province-wide rallies saw hundreds of electricity employees demanding the recovery of abducted staff, the filling of long-pending vacancies, and relief from worsening inflation and job insecurity.

The central protest was organised outside the Peshawar Press Club, led by Provincial Chairman Haji Muhammad Iqbal, Secretary Noorul Amin Haiderzai, and other key union figures. The demonstrators, holding placards and chanting slogans, voiced anger over what they see as a systematic dismantling of a vital national institution.

Union leaders accused the government of repeating the disastrous "K-Electric model," which they argued led to increased tariffs and massive layoffs in Karachi. They said privatisation would serve vested interests rather than the public, plunging the power sector into deeper inefficiency and corruption.

Speakers at the protest stated that the privatisation of WAPDA would lead to large-scale unemployment, higher electricity bills, and a heavier burden on the poor.

"The government has turned a blind eye to the lessons of the past and is selling off public assets for political gains," one leader stated, as highlighted by The Express Tribune.

The union demanded that the federal government and the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) immediately halt the privatisation agenda and instead reform and reintegrate the distribution companies under WAPDA's control. They also called for the safe recovery of five PESCO employees abducted in Bannu, and urgent recruitment to address staff shortages.

The protesters emphasised that overburdened workers, rising electricity theft, and delayed salaries are symptoms of a government more interested in privatisation than public welfare, a reflection of Pakistan's growing economic instability and governance failure, as reported by The Express Tribune.

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