LAHORE - Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq has announced to launch a countrywide protest movement against inflated electricity bills and overall inflation from Friday. Addressing a press conference at Mansoorah on Wednesday, he issued a schedule of sit-ins in front of governor houses and public rallies in different cities. He said the JI would host a national energy conference in Islamabad on September 16 and also issue white paper on the power sector. The JI is challenging the IPPs agreements before the Supreme Court next week, he said.
The sit-in in front of Peshawar Governor House will be held on September 18, Lahore on September 24 and Quetta on September 24 while the Karachi protest would be held on October 16, he announced, vowing to continue the peaceful movement for the rights of the people till the logical end. He said the JI would also issue a call for wheel-jam strike in the next phase. Haq will address gatherings in Rahim Yar Khan, Layyah and Muzaffargarh on September 8, 9 and 10 respectively and sit-ins in Rawalpindi and Multan on September 21 and 22. He would go to Faisalabad to address a mass meeting on September 15.
Lamenting the persistent deprivation of basic rights of the people, inflation, unemployment and lawlessness in the country, he attributed it to the successive governments’ failure and their policy to protect the status quo and self-interests. He was surprised that even the caretakers were bent upon continuing the policies of the PTI, PDM and the PPP’s governments. They raised the electricity tariff which even did not fall under their domain as the caretakers’ only responsibility was to hold the election and handed over power to the elected representatives of the people, he added. “I want to make it clear that the caretaker could not resolve the problems and therefore they should only focus on elections and cooperate with ECP for conduct of free polls.”
