MQM-P opposes strike call as JI holds women’s protest against inflated power bills

As the wave of protests against the inflated power bills continues, a large number of women under the banner of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) staged a demonstration on Thursday against the increase in electricity price, demanding instant relief and withdrawal of heavy taxes from the bills.

The women who participated in the protest belonged to various walks of life. They carried placards and banners against exorbitant power bills, and chanted slogans against the caretaker government and K-Electric (KE).

The protest was addressed by Karachi JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, All Karachi Tajir Ittehad President Attique Mir and others.

In his address, Rehman said the cold shoulder given by the caretaker government to the people over the issue of heavy bills had compelled the mothers and sisters of Karachi to take to the streets.

He encouraged women to stage protests in this regard saying that the people of Karachi were demanding their due rights, not alms. He demanded that Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar either provide substantial relief to the people or pack up.

He said the heavy bills had already knocked out the lower class, while the middle class had also been forced to a crossroad to choose between the electricity bills or the food basket.

The JI leader remarked that in this scenario, the caretaker PM had been convening meetings after meetings, instead of taking practical steps to mitigate the miseries of the people.

The ruling regime had been pushing the people to extreme anarchy, Rehman lamented, adding that the JI would not follow the line of anarchy and lawlessness, and instead would help channelise the anger and anguish of the people into a constructive rights struggle.

He held the political parties under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) responsible for causing the current crisis. The Pakistan Peoples Party always chanted the mantra of people, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz made the people dream of becoming the Asian tiger, but both of them failed the nation when they came into power.

The JI’s city chief said it was only the JI that had been struggling for the rights of Karachi and its residents.

He announced that the JI would observe a strike on September 2 and the party might call a prolonged sit-in against the hike in electricity bills.

Demanding cancellation of the KE's licence, he alleged that white collar criminals of the power utility had turned the company a taboo for the entire corporate sector.

He also demanded that the rulers distribute the burden of taxation among feudal lords as well. He mentioned that the salaried class paid bills to the tune of over Rs262 billion against the agricultural taxation of just Rs4 billion.

He added that over 40 per cent of the agricultural land was in the clutches of just four per cent feudal lords.

The JI wanted to bring those feudal lords under the tax net, not those who owned just a few acres of agricultural land, Rehman explained.

MQM-P’s statement

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has opposed the traders’ call for strike against inflation and increase in power charges.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the MQM-P’s Coordination Committee said the party stood by the traders but it wanted them to show restraint.

The statement read that it was the right of every citizen to record their protest, but there were many ways to do it. The problems could be solved through negotiations, and in this regard, the MQM-P could play a role, the party said.

Reacting to the call of traders for a strike, the Coordination Committee said that no one denied that the current situation of inflation was painful and the prices of medicines, petroleum products and electricity had been skyrocketing, but it was also a fact that the country's economic situation could not bear the burden of protests, arson and closure of businesses.

The statement read that the business community should observe a symbolic black day to record their protest, but closing down businesses would further damage the economy, and lead to more inflation.