KARACHI - Local leaders of various political and religious parties on Wednesday endorsed the strike call of Jamaat-e-Islami to be observed tomorrow (Thursday) in protest against massive increase of 70 per cent in the power-tariff. In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, PML-N leader Saleem Zia, Siddique Rathor of JUP, Zia Abbas of NPP, Shahid Ghauri of ST, Yousaf Masti Khan of NWP, Hassan Mehmood of SNF, Khan Mohammad Baloch of PAT, Al-Hajj Rafi of NMP, Ali Hassan Chandio of STPP, Imran Baghpati of Traders Action Committee, Nusrat Mirza of MRC and others appealed to the traders and general public to support the strike call to compel the KESC administration to withdraw its decision to increase the power-tariff. They termed the recent hike of 70 per cent in power-tariff a brutal joke of the KESC authorities with the citizens and said that they strictly opposed it. They urged the people to support the strike call against this act of high-handedness and make it clear for the NEPRA and KESC authorities that it would be acceptable to them. They said that despite paying high tariff per unit, Karachiites were facing more loadshedding than people in other parts of the country. They appealed to the people to stop paying their electricity bills till the KESC withdraw increase in the power-tariff.