Loadshedding: Guard kills protestor in Lahore

Protestors claim security guard at petrol pump shot man dead when he went to drink water, another man injured.

LAHORE: One man was killed and another was injured when a guard at a petrol pump in Shalimar Chowk in Lahore tried to disperse a protesting mob, Express News reported on Monday. The protestors set the pump on fire in return.

The crowd, protesting against prolonged power cuts in the city, claimed that the two men had gone to the petrol pump to drink water but the guard opened fire at them.

They claimed that the police was present during the whole incident but did not take any action against the guard, while the police claimed that the guard was taken into custody.

The protest rally was on its way from Daroghawala area to Shalimar Chowk when the incident took place.

The protestors also burnt tires and blocked roads for several hours demanding the government to put an end to loadshedding.

Similar protests were observed in Faisalabad where protestors damaged cars with sticks and blocked roads. Factory workers said that the loadshedding bars the factories from working which results in their pay loss.

A case was also registered against more than 300 protestors who looted shops and were involved in loss to property in Faisalabad.

In Sargodha, businessmen also protested and chanted slogans against the government.

‘Punjab government to fully support protestors’

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, speaking to the media in Faisalabad, assured the protestors that the Punjab government will support them with their protests against loadshedding.

“This cannot happen that the country’s biggest province keeps sacrificing and then itself becomes a sacrificial goat,” said Sharif.

Appealing to the people to refrain from damaging property, Sharif said that tearing down the public property will bring no good. “I have one appeal: please don’t harm the public property. It is the possession of the Pakistani people.”