A protest over a prolonged power outage in Karachi’s Punjab Colony escalated into city-wide traffic chaos, shedding light on persistent governance failures and energy mismanagement in Pakistan. The incident, reported by Dawn, involved residents of an 80-flat, 10-storey building blocking a major road near Punjab Chowrangi due to being without electricity for over 24 hours. The outage, ongoing since 11 am Friday, saw no response from K-Electric despite complaints. As a result, traffic disruptions spread to Defence Road and other key areas, impacting Karachi Port operations and leaving commuters stranded. The protest stemmed from K-Electric’s anti-theft operation in P&T Colony, with allegations of indiscriminate disconnections threatening legal connections. While KE restored power partially, the broader issue of unreliable electricity provision persists due to outdated infrastructure and accountability gaps in power distribution, as pointed out by Dawn. This crisis reflects deeper systemic dysfunctions rather than an isolated blackout.