Karachi blackout protest chokes city traffic: Punjab Colony residents block roads after 24-hour outage; report points to systemic collapse

A protest over a prolonged power outage in Karachi’s Punjab Colony spiraled into city-wide traffic chaos on Saturday, underscoring what many see as chronic governance failure and energy mismanagement in Pakistan, Dawn reported.

Residents of an 80-flat, 10-storey building blocked a major road near Punjab Chowrangi after going more than 24 hours without electricity. Power had reportedly been out since 11 am Friday, and despite repeated complaints, K-Electric, Karachi’s sole power distributor, allegedly failed to respond.

The resulting sit-in crippled traffic on Defence Road and nearby areas. Long queues of trucks and tankers vital to Karachi Port were stalled from Qayyumabad to the KPT Flyover. Major intersections like Boat Basin, Gizri, and Hino Chowrangi were brought to a standstill, leaving thousands of commuters stranded, according to Dawn.

The outage reportedly followed K-Electric’s anti-theft operation in the adjacent P&T Colony. Protesters claimed legal connections were also cut off in the sweep, with no clear procedure followed. KE, however, described the protestors as "miscreants" attempting to restore illegal connections and said their teams were attacked during the operation, allegedly linked to a cable TV network. No evidence was provided implicating all affected residents in theft.

While KE later claimed to have restored power to parts of the area, the larger issue remains unresolved. The incident highlights Pakistan’s ongoing struggle to provide reliable electricity, exacerbated by outdated infrastructure and lack of accountability in power distribution.

As Dawn noted, the crisis is less about one blackout and more a reflection of systemic dysfunction, where citizens bear the brunt of institutional failure.