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Thursday March 28, 2024

PTI, PPP, PAT, PML-Q stage countrywide protests

Loadshedding, deaths in Karachi

By our correspondents
June 27, 2015
LAHORE: Major opposition parties on Friday took to the streets jointly against the mounting loadshedding, taking out rallies and staging sit-ins outside the press clubs across the country demanding immediate resignation of Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
In Lahore, the opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Part (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), staged a demonstration against loadshedding across the country in Ramazan. Hundreds of slogan-chanting and banner-waving protesters were led by senior leaders like PTI Punjab Organiser Ch Sarwar, PPP Punjab President Mazoor Wattoo, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed, Deputy Opposition Leader Sabtain Khan, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, PTI Lahore Organiser Shafqat Mahmood, PAT President Dr Raheeq Abbasi, Advisers to PTI Chairman Abdul Aleem Khan, Ijaz Ahmad Ch and other senior leaders.
The opposition parties took out a rally from the Davis Road to the LPC, carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans against thegovernment’s failure to overcome loadshedding and price-hike. The workers were chanting slogans “Bijli Do, Go Nawaz Go, where is the electricity production of Nandipur plant, and Killer rulers unacceptable.”
Addressing the protesters, Ch Sarwar said the PML-N government after its failure in resolving the energy crisis had set another example of its incompetence. He said the PTI chairman was fighting for the cause of provision of rights of the people and all political forces must forge unity to bring the country out of prevailing crises.
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch said the rulers had failed to address thegenuine grievances of the common man and people had got fed up with their tall hollow claims and slogans. Manzoor Wattoo condemned the attitude of the government regarding the resolution of power crises and termed it as shameful and inhuman.
Raheeq Abbassi said the FIRs of Karachi deaths should be lodged against the rulers on their negligence. PML-Q leader Ch Zaheeruddin said the N League should change their priorities from constructing roads and bridges to power production. Mehmoodur Rasheed and Shafqat Mehmood said the PML-N had failed to deliver.
According to a press release issued here on Friday, a large number of party leaders and workers participated in the protest day and demonstrations on the direction of PML-Q President Ch Shujaat Hussain.
Ch Zaheer said the worst loadshedding was a source of concern for the faithful observing fast. Mian Munir and other leaders in their speeches said where were those who had enacted the loadshedding drama under the Minar-e-Pakistan.
In Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities of Sindh, religious and political parties took out rallies and staged sit-ins against the power outages and deaths in the port city. They demanded the government to step down as it had failed to resolve the sufferings of masses as loadshedding had made people’s lives miserable.
In Multan, the PPP staged a demonstration against the government for its failure to end the loadshedding at the Chowk Kutchery on Friday. The PPP activists led by party’s south Punjab Additional Secretary General Kh Rizwan Alam and Multan City general secretary Salim Raja blocked the Kutchery Road to register their protest.
Rizwan Alam criticised the PML-N government for its failure to fulfill its election promise of ending the loadshedding in six months. He condemned the unannounced loadshedding during Sehr and Iftar. Former MPA Javed Siddique, PPP district president Malik Akram and others also spoke on the occasion.
Meanwhile, addressing a PTI rally, Shah Mehmood Qureshi condemned the loadshedding around the country. He said Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif had failed to honour their commitments. He said the government had failed to curb the line losses due to bad governance.
PTI Multan President Ijaz Janjua, south Punjab joint secretary Farrukh Sheikh, Wasim Khan and others were also present on the occasion.In Toba Tek Singh, on the call of the opposition parties, scores of PTI and PPP activists took out a rally. The rally was led by PTI leader Ch Ashfaq and PPP leader Ch Zulfiqar Ali. The protesters reached the Shahbaz Chowk after marching through different roads. Speaking on the occasion, the PPP and PTI leaders said the unscheduled loadshedding had caused deaths of more than 1,000 citizens in Karachi.
In Nankana Sahib, the PPP and PTI activists took out a rally against loadshedding here on Friday. The rally was taken out from the press club up to Dowaba Chowk. PPP’s former MPA Rai Shah Jahan Bhatti and PTI district organiser Mustafa Sindhu led the rally.
In Muzaffargarh, the PPP took out a rally against prolonged power outages and deaths of more than 1,000 people due to a heatwave in Karachi. The rally was led by PPP district president Malik Bilal Khar and Iftikhar Khan.
In Pakpattan, the PTI leaders condemned the deaths of more than 1,000 people due to loadshedding in Karachi. The PTI leaders said the federal and Sindh governments were silent on the issue.
Earlier, the PTI activists took out a rally and marched through different roads. In Burewala, activists of the PPP and PML-Q organised a protest camp against loadshedding and inflation in front of the press club on the College Road on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, PPP Tehsil president Ahsan Sardar Saleem, city president Rao Faryad Ali, Women Wing divisional president Shagufta Ch, PML-Q president Ahsanullah Cheema and others condemned the long hours power loadshedding and price-hike in the country and said the government had failed to provide relief to the masses.