Millions of Pakistanis were left without electricity for the second time in three months after a grid failure on Monday, affecting nearly all parts of the country.
In Rawalpindi, homeware trader Muhammad Iftikhar Sheikh, 71, said he was unable to demonstrate electronic products to browsing customers.
“The customers never buy without testing first,” he said. “All of us are sitting idle.”
Schools mostly continued either in the dark or using battery-powered lighting.
A shop owner in Karachi told AFP he feared his entire dairy stock would spoil without refrigeration.
Printer Khurrum Khan, 39, said orders were piling up because of the blackout.
Unreliable power is “a permanent curse which our governments have failed to overcome”, he complained.
A man sits outside his shop at a market during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23. — AFP
A man cleans his garment shop at a market during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23. — AFP
Labourers sit idle in Hyderabad during a country-wide power breakdown on January 23. — Photo courtesy: Umair Ali
A labourer sits idle in Hyderabad during a country-wide power breakdown on January 23. — Photo courtesy: Umair Ali
A tailor sits at his shop in a market during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23. — AFP
A shopkeeper recites the Holy Quran while sitting at a market during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23. — AFP
Students attend a class at a government high secondary school during a nationwide power outage in Rawalpindi on January 23. — AFP
A man sits outside his shop during a country-wide power breakdown in Karachi on January 23. — Reuters
A labourer naps in Hyderabad during a country-wide power breakdown on January 23. — Photo courtesy: Umair Ali
A labourer sits idle in Hyderabad during a country-wide power breakdown on January 23. — Photo courtesy: Umair Ali
A man starts a generator outside his shop during a country-wide power breakdown in Karachi on January 23. — Reuters
Header image: A man sits outside his shop during a country-wide power breakdown in Karachi on January 23. — Reuters
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