A viral video shared by multiple X accounts, including Swedish professor Ashok Swain, claims that Pakistan’s security forces destroyed solar panels of a poor Baloch farmer for refusing to cooperate with the military. The posts frame the incident as state oppression and discrimination against Baloch people.
However, no major Pakistani or international media outlet has reported such an incident. Credible evidence shows the video is from anti-narcotics operations carried out by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan, and local police. Since mid-2025, authorities have been dismantling solar-powered tube wells used to irrigate illegal drug crops in districts such as Kohlu, Qila Abdullah, and Duki.
Officials and documented reports confirm that solar infrastructure is destroyed after crop eradication to prevent regrowth and disrupt drug-funded militancy. There is no evidence linking the action to a farmer’s alleged “non-cooperation” or ethnic targeting.
Also Read, Solar panel prices increase sharply across Pakistan
Solar panel prices in the country have shown a sudden and significant rise since the of this year.
As per media reports the Chinese imported solar panels price with capacities of 585, 645 and 720 watts have gone up by an average of Rs5,000 in local markets.
Resultantly the price of a 585-watt solar panel has risen from Rs16,000-17,000 to Rs20,000–21,000.
The price of a 645-watt solar panel has increased from Rs20,000 to RS24,000–25,000, while the price of a 720-watt solar panel has jumped from RS22,000–25,000 to RS30,000–35,000.
Salim Memon, an importer of solar panels and Vice President of the Karachi Electronics Dealers Association, told that the worldwide upsurge in the prices of silver and copper has raised production costs for Chinese solar companies.
As a result, the per-watt price of solar panels has increased from RS22 to RS33 over the past five months.
Earlier Pakistan witnessed a significant decline in solar panel prices during the year 2025, the main reasons for which are being attributed to high production by Chinese manufacturers globally and the relatively stable rupee situation domestically. Due to these factors, prices remained low in the solar energy sector throughout the year and consumers received significant relief.
