In May 2026, Islamabad-based vlogger Muhammad Mobeen filmed Dera Ismail Khan’s famous Chowgalla, the British-era town centre where four bazaars intersect, using a drone.

The video glides over the crowded bazaars in the heart of Dera Ismail Khan before pulling back to reveal buildings packed tightly together. As the camera pulls back, rooftops fill the frame, covered not in the usual clutter of water tanks and laundry lines but in sleek black and blue solar panels, stretching as far as the eye can see.

The video has garnered roughly a million views and more than 25,000 likes on TikTok alone. Its popularity has spawned a host of copycat videos, with some content creators dubbing the city “Solar Ismail Khan.”

The city’s urban area covers approximately 40 square kilometres and has a population of roughly 210,000, according to the 2023 census. Beyond the spectacle of thousands of solar panels covering the city’s rooftops, Dera Ismail Khan’s solar transition is beginning to reshape the local economy. It is creating new opportunities while making some traditional trades less viable in this dusty, conflict-affected city in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, roughly 300 kilometres from Peshawar.

From specialised solar markets to farmers abandoning diesel-powered irrigation, an unreliable grid is driving a new economy in Dera Ismail Khan — but not everyone can afford to join it

From specialised solar markets to farmers abandoning diesel-powered irrigation, an unreliable grid is driving a new economy in Dera Ismail Khan — but not everyone can afford to join it

Over the past few years, three specialised solar markets have emerged in the city, at Khushal Market, Bannu Adda and Tank Road. Circular Road alone has up to 70 shops dealing exclusively in solar equipment, serving as a major distribution hub for neighbouring Tank, and Upper and Lower South Waziristan.

The boom has extended beyond retail, creating work in solar installation, electrical wiring and the supply and maintenance of batteries, tube wells and related equipment.

Muhammad Saeed, a local solar........

© Dawn (Magazines)