Police brutality in Pakistan led to the death of one woman in Karachi. The woman was part of protests against the Pakistani power corporations who are forced to impose power cuts due to the energy crisis the nation is facing.
Police denied the claim and said the 60-year-old woman died of natural causes and not due to police brutality. A probe has been launched into her death.
Residents of Karachi’s Mauripur Road endured police beatings, tear gas shells and baton charges after they took out a protest on Tuesday. After police used brute force to disperse the protesters, the residents started pelting stones at the cops.
They chanted slogans against the K-Electric power company highlighting their plight due to 12 to 14 hours of power outages in sweltering heat which also disrupted their water supply.
Police said they were forced to respond with force after the demonstration blocked the road linking the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and SITE industrial areas and caused a traffic jam.
Containers carrying perishable products worth an estimated PKR250 million remained stuck in traffic since Monday evening due to protests.
Karachi-based exporter and chairman of fruit and vegetable exporters and import association Aslam Pakhali more than 100 shipping containers are stuck.
The protest ended on Tuesday evening after police and power company officials assured the residents that their problems will be addressed.
The protest initially began on Monday after residents hit the streets and blocked main roads demanding an end to the unannounced and prolonged power cuts by K-Electric power corporation.
Protests were also reported at Shahrah-e-Faisal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Safari Park and Nazimabad areas of Karachi.
Officials from K-Electric say they are forced to impose long power cuts on residents as the electricity supply falls short of massive demand in summer.
Pakistan residents are reeling from power cuts since the beginning of the summer season. Many residents in the cities of Pakistan have endured the grueling summer months through power outages and no water supply.
Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier warned citizens to be ready for extra hours of power cuts in the month of July. The problem was further exacerbated as Islamabad failed to agree on a deal for natural gas supply.
Pakistan resorted to importing coal from Afghanistan to generate cheap electricity.
(with inputs from Gulf News)
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