Peshawar, May 15 -- Defying the government's controversial smart lockdown policy introduced to address the worsening energy crisis, hundreds of traders and shopkeepers staged a massive protest rally in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, intensifying pressure on authorities amid soaring inflation and rising fuel costs. The demonstration was organised by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Traders' Organization and drew a large crowd of businessmen demanding an immediate reversal of the restrictions, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, led by the organisation's president, Malik Mehr Elahi, protesters marched through key commercial areas while chanting slogans against what they described as an economically disastrous policy. The trade...