PPP asks workers to protest strongly against inflated electricity bills

LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir Sirajul Haq announced a nationwide strike on September 02 (Saturday) against the inflated electricity bills, demanding the government take back the hike in power tariff or get ready to face the wrath of masses.

Addressing a ceremony commemorating JI’s 82nd Foundation Day at Ichhra on Sunday, Sirajul Haq said the strike and protest would be peaceful and appealed to the people to raise their voice against injustice and actively participate in protests. He said the JI would organise protests in front of the offices of Wapda if the government remained stuck to its decision.

“The poor are unable to bear the burden of inflated bills. We will observe a strike and also hold peaceful demonstration in front of Wapda offices. We will force the government to take back the decision aimed at targeting the poverty-stricken masses at the behest of IMF,” he said.

Sirajul Haq said the present inflation was a direct consequence of the flawed economic strategies propagated by former governments of the PDM, PTI and PPP. The former rulers, he said, entered into accord with the IMF, laying landmines for masses.

Tragically, he said, it was the underprivileged segments of society that continued to shoulder the burdens generated by the opulent lifestyles of ruling elite, often at the expense of the nation’s resources.

He lamented that certain families, who were beneficiaries of the British Raj, persisted to rule over the country even after 75 years of independence. The establishment, he said, always lent support to feudalistic and corrupt dynasties.

The rulers, he said, established offshore entities and amassed properties, safeguarding the future of their own offspring while damaging the aspirations and dreams of the nation. This state of affairs, he argued, erodes the nation’s promise for a better future.

Siraj highlighted pursuit of peace and equitable dispensation of justice stand as formidable challenges. Over the past seven decades, he said, the governments of the so-called democratic parties and dictators have prioritised safeguarding their self-interests often at the expense of the nation’s welfare and greater good of the country.

In light of these realities, he appealed to the people to exercise caution and refrain from placing further trust in these entities. Instead, he advocated for the choice of capable and principled leadership, urging the masses to shun established parties that have been tried and stood exposed.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) announced to lodge a strong protest against the exorbitant electricity bills while directing its party workers to protest strongly against the inflated electricity bills and become the voice of people.

In a direction issued to PPP workers on Sunday, party Secretary General Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari directed PPP workers to protest at city union council and tehsil levels. “The PPP workers should become the voice of people and start protesting against inflated electricity tariffs,” he said. He said every citizen of the country is worried because of the exorbitant electricity bills.