Power protesters extend deadline to block road by two days

Later, they extended their three-day deadline given to the government to meet their demand for two more days. The protesters said if their demand was not fulfilled within two days, they would shut the Chitral-Peshawar road. The deadline to shut the main road was extended after district nazim Maghfirat Shah held talks with the participants of the sit-in led by former MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali. Both the nazim and the Maulana belong to the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). The first phase (36 megawatt) of the 108 MW Golen Gol hydro-power house was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. On Monday, Assistant Commissioner Chitral Sajid Nawaz had also held talks with the protesters. Maulana Chitrali told local reporters that they extended the deadline by two days on the assurance of the district administration and the nazim. He said the local administration had assured him that within two days officials from WAPDA, which owns the Golen Gol powerhouse, would reach Chitral and would take the people of Broz, Ayun and Gahiret into confidence about the supply of power to these villages. If they failed to do so, he added, the main road between Chitral and other parts of the country would be blocked at different points after Friday prayers. He said the people of Broz had named the district nazim as their representative to hold talks with the WAPDA officials. A committee, comprising Alhaj Eid Hussain, Syed Muzaffar Jan, Abdul Latif, Muhammad Hakim Advocate, Nusrat Azad and Maulana Chitrali, would also take part in the negotiations with the WAPDA team. –Syed Nazir Hussain Shah Read this report in Urdu]]>