KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: A key highway connecting northern Pakistan and China via land remained closed for trade and traffic for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, as hundreds continue to stage sit-in protests against lengthy power outages, protesters and officials said. 
The protest, which began last week, involves residents, political parties and civil society groups who vowed to continue their sit-in at the Karakorum Highway (KKH) in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) that connects Pakistan to China, until their demands for reliable electricity were met.
The KKH, a vital trade and strategic route linking Pakistan with China, has been obstructed at Aliabad, the district headquarters of Hunza. The area plays a critical role in bilateral trade facilitated by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which has increased since an agreement to keep the Khunjerab Pass open year-round for economic exchanges.
“The sit-in is continuing in Hunza and the main KKH is still blocked for all kinds of traffic,” Zahoor Ilahi, a protester and member of a committee formed by protesters, told Arab News over the phone.
“More than 200 heavy vehicles, including containers, are stranded in Hunza due to the protest. Today shutter-down and wheel jam strikes are also being observed across Hunza,” he added. 
Ilahi said no public transport vehicles were on the roads, only those vehicles were operating that were facilitating protesters. He said women and children have also joined the sit-in protest since Tuesday.

“All four rounds of negotiations with the government have failed,” he said. “And today a meeting is also underway between the protesters and the government.”
He said the protesters were demanding their basic right, electricity, lamenting that no other part of the country was facing power cuts of over 20 hours.
“There is no chance of ending the sit-in until our demands are met,” Ilahi warned. 
Shreen Karim a local female journalist, said all activities in Hunza were paralyzed due to power outages.
“From businesses to health and education of students, all are suffering due to power cuts,” she told Arab News. “The Internet is also not properly working due to power cuts. We are also facing issues in sending reports to the newsroom.”
Power cuts, known locally as load shedding, are a chronic issue in Pakistan, with many areas facing significant disruptions. The harsh winters in GB exacerbate the problem, leaving residents without adequate heating or access to essential services.
Faizullah Faraq, the GB government’s spokesperson, admitted that the region has been facing prolonged power outages.
“The government is trying to engage the protesters to end the protest,” Faraq told Arab News. “Not only Hunza, other regions are also facing power outages. All of the power stations are hydel, and due to the low flow of water, the production of the electricity is slashed during the winter,” he added.
He said protesters were pressing the government to run thermal stations to minimize power outages. However, Faraq said the government could not run thermal generators as it was running on federal grants. 
“And we don’t have a share in the NFC [National Finance Commission],” he said, referring to a series of economic programs that allocate revenues between the center and Pakistan’s provinces. 
“And the government is not in a position to bear the fuel costs of thermal generators. That’s why the negotiations with the government did not reach any conclusion.”
Faraq further said that the chief minister had directed GB’s chief secretary to discuss the issue with the federal government.
“A meeting will be held in Islamabad to discuss the power outage issue,” the spokesperson said.
And if they release funds, the government will run the thermal generators, and the sit-in will be ended.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed another case of poliovirus in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, health authorities said on Wednesday, identifying it as the last case of 2024, as it was detected last month, bringing the nationwide tally for the year to 69.

Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five are essential to provide high immunity against the disease.

The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad confirmed the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case in KP’s Tank district, marking the fifth case reported from the district in 2024.

“On Jan. 7, the lab confirmed a case from Tank,” the health ministry said in a statement. “Pakistan is responding to the resurgence of WPV1 [in 2024] with 69 cases reported so far.”

It said in a separate message it was counting the new case along with the ones that emerged last year since “it was isolated/detected in 2024 as per the control room.”

The Pakistan Polio Program organizes several mass vaccination campaigns annually, delivering the vaccine directly to people’s doorsteps.

On Jan. 6, Pakistan concluded a week-long anti-polio drive in southwestern Balochistan, which reported the highest tally of 27 cases last year.

The health ministry said the first nationwide polio campaign of this year is scheduled to take place from Feb. 3-9, urging the parents to ensure the safety of their children by welcoming the vaccinators.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccination teams.

In the early 1990s, the country reported around 20,000 cases annually, but in 2018, the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.