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ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani government minister says a mob angered by long, rolling blackouts in the country’s northwest stormed a power station in the area and cut electricity to several towns and a famous tourist resort popular with local and foreign tourists.
The minister in charge of water and electricity, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, says Friday’s attack took place in the town of Rashkai in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He says the mob managed to cut off electricity to the scenic valley of Swat and nearby towns of Mardan and Malakand.
Asif says that order was soon restored and that engineers were working to restore power to the region. He didn’t give other details.
Such riots are common in energy-starved Pakistan, where angry residents have attacked employees working for power producing companies.