Karachi faces rolling blackouts as power crisis hits breaking point

The crisis reached a boiling point during the week of August 24, as demonstrators took to the streets in Lyari and the old city to voice their frustration. Data from K-Electric’s own schedules indicates that over 615 feeders are subject to outages lasting 12 hours or more, impacting roughly one-third of the city’s infrastructure. For families in North Karachi, Nazimabad, and Gulistan-i-Jauhar, the reality is even bleaker, with many reporting near-total power loss throughout the day.

Qazi Khizer of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan emphasized that the energy shortage is fueling a mental health crisis, arguing that electricity must be treated as a fundamental human right. Meanwhile, local leaders like Karachi Union of Journalists President Tahir Hassan Khan are questioning the efficacy of the utility’s privatization, noting that promised operational upgrades have failed to stabilize supply. In areas like Lyari, activist Najma Maheshwari reported that the outages have triggered a secondary crisis, as water distribution systems—which rely on electric pumps—have ground to a halt, leaving households without essential resources.