HARIPUR: Jamaat-i-Islami has threatened to take to the streets and surround the offices of Peshawar Electric Supply Company if it fails to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the residents of Haripur.

JI Haripur emir Tahir Atiq Siddiqui made the threat while talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday.

Earlier, he hosted a reception in the honor of the newly-elected body of Haripur Press Club, where JI district general secretary Qazi Tanzeelur Rehman and others were also in attendance.

Mr Siddiqui said local Pesco authorities had been carrying out unannounced loadshedding twice a week across the district for the last few months, which had hit small businesses. “The daily wagers serving at welding shops, grinding machines, marble factories, tailors’ shops and other small industries are the worst hit as the eight hours power outage deprives them of daily earning,” he said.

Leader says small businesses worst hit by outages

He warned the Pesco authorities of staging protests and surrounding its offices if the loadshedding was not stopped immediately.

Mr Siddiqui also condemned the lack of implementation of Minimum Wage Act in the industrial units of Haripur district and depriving the workers of their right of Rs36,000 as monthly salary.

The JI district chief also criticised the PTI provincial government for rendering the Haripur Tehsil Municipal Administration bankrupt as the civic body had even failed to disburse salary to its employees, forcing them to stage protests.

About the federal government’s claim of controlling the inflation, Mr Siddiqui termed it a mere jugglery of words, saying there was not a single daily use item that had witnessed a sizable cut in the market rate. He said the price of sugar had increased by Rs40 during the last few days.

SECURITY OF INVESTORS: Hazara Regional Police Officer Nasir Mehmood Satti has said the KP police are making all-out efforts to provide a conducive environment to investors so they could carry out their activities without any fear.

He promised this while speaking to industrialists during a visit to Haripur Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Wednesday.

Former provincial minister Yousuf Ayub Khan was also in attendance. Mr Satti said CPEC had enhanced the strategic importance of Hattar Industrial Estate.

Acknowledging the role of industrialists in the national economy and job creation, the RPO said engaging the jobless youth in the manufacturing process not only helped address their economic problems but also curbed crime rate.

Assuring KP police’s support to industrialists, including foreign investors, he urged the entrepreneurs of Hattar Industrial Estate to ensure installation of CCTV cameras as he believed the step would help the police both in providing security to industrialists, their workers and the properties but also tracing the culprits in case of any mishap.

The RPO also promised to increase the force’s strength in the Hattar police station together with patrolling. Chairman Hattar Industrialists Association Malik Ashiq Awan briefed the RPO about the problems and potential of the industrialists, and shared some suggestions for enhancing the security in the industrial estate.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025