Karachi reels under deepening power crisis as blackouts last up to 24 hours

Karachi's electricity crisis has intensified, with residents in several parts of the city reporting outages lasting up to 24 hours. Rights activists in Pakistan have warned that prolonged loadshedding is placing a growing burden on low-income families.

According to Dawn, the issue was raised at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club organised by the Civil Society Collective for Clean Energy for Karachi. Speakers said extended power cuts were disrupting basic household activities, education and work, while also worsening access to water and affecting hygiene.

Residents of North Karachi, Nazimabad and parts of Gulistan-i-Jauhar reported between 16 and 24 hours of loadshedding, ANI said. Protests and traffic disruptions were also reported in Lyari and other parts of the old city during the week beginning August 24.

The speakers cited K-Electric's published outage schedule, saying more than 615 feeders were listed for power cuts of up to 12 hours a day. They claimed this could affect nearly a third of the city's feeders.

Qazi Khizer of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said the prolonged outages were having a particularly severe impact on working-class communities. He said electricity shortages were also contributing to rising mental stress and argued that reliable electricity "should be treated as an essential service rather than a privilege".

Karachi Union of Journalists president Tahir Hassan Khan questioned whether K-Electric's privatisation had delivered the improvements promised to consumers. He said claims of technological and operational progress had not translated into "dependable electricity supplies".