Blackout: Electricity remains suspended in Wana

Two WAPDA employees were abducted on October 6 after which there has been a complete power shutdown.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Power supply to the entire Wana sub-division of South Waziristan has been cut off for the past four days in protest over the abduction of two Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) workers.

Power will remain suspended until the workers are released.

A Wapda official Jawad Iqbal and a driver, Raheem Khan, were abducted from the on Wana –DI Khan Road in Tanai village on October 6.

The assistant political agent of Wana, Shahid Ali, held a jirga with the Ahmadzai sub-tribe in the Wana Scouts camp. The jirga assured Ali that it will assist in releasing the abducted employee, but said that the region must not suffer blackouts or be held responsible.

“It is strange that the government is punishing common tribal people by cutting off electricity, even though they have nothing to do with the abduction of the workers,” said Ali Muhammad, a former councilor and notable tribal elder, talking to The Express Tribune.

The Ahmadzai tribe will hold another jirga on October 11 in Wana Bazaar, this time without the political agent, to discuss the situation, Muhammad said.

Attempts to reach the assistant political agent for comments proved unsuccessful. Though he was not available, the question remains whether the suspension of electricity was ordered by the political administration or by Wapda.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2012.