Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday warned the government that if it failed to meet the demands of revising tax rates and reviewing agreements with independent power producers (IPPs), the party’s sit-ins would be further expanded
Addressing the protest sit-in of the JI outside the Governor House, Rehman said the JI did not want confrontation and chaos but this should not be taken as its weakness. He asked the government to learn from what had been going on in Kenya and Bangladesh.
The JI leader asked those in the corridors of power to reduce the electricity tariff before it was too late and people refused to pay the bills.
Talking about the issue of IPPs, he said Rs8,500 billion had so far been paid to the IPPs and the nation would not accept such kind of plundering of its resources anymore.
He demanded the authorities run a forensic audit of the IPPs’ accounts in order to ascertain the truth. The forensic audit would also expose multiple parties who had been the beneficiaries of the illogical agreements with the IPPs, he said. The JI chief alleged that the rulers were hands in gloves with criminals and that was the reason they did not want to take any drastic action against those involved in plundering resources of the country.
He said the rulers were reluctant to negotiate with the IPPs despite the fact that negotiations were a matter of routine when it came to international agreements.
Both the dictators and the politicians who were planted in the former’s nurseries had failed the country, Rehman said, adding that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) practically sat on both sides of the table when it came to talks.
He added that the local agents of the IMF in the ruling class had caused the prevailing economic crisis.
Talking about excessive taxes, he demanded the government rationalise the tax regime and provide relief to the masses.
Health, education and food security sectors were exempted from taxes as per the IMF programme, the JI chief said as he lamented that the government even imposed taxes on these sectors.
He called for reducing the interest rate immediately and eliminating it gradually in order to provide some breathing space to the poor.
Pakistan has been bestowed with all types of blessings, he said, adding that the only curse in the country was corruption supported by the system.
Rehman also demanded that the government end the monopoly of the K-Electric in Karachi.
A large number of the people of Karachi along with their families participated in the JI's sit-in on its second day on Sunday.
The Karachi chapter of the party began the sit-in on Saturday to extend the JI’s ongoing sit-in in Rawalpindi against high power price and tax rates.
Protesters at the sit-in chanted slogans against the ruling regime and all those whose actions resulted in the prevailing situation.
The Karachi JI also established a sit-in fund and appealed to the Karachiites to support the sit-in that was being held to bring relief to the nation.
Karachi JI Emir Munem Zafar and other leaders of the party, including MPA Muhammad Farooq, also addressed the sit-in on Sunday.