Soaring inflation, exorbitant power bills: KP lawyers stay away from courts in protest

PESHAWAR: The lawyers on Monday boycotted the court proceedings in the provincial capital and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to protest at the skyrocketing inflation and bloated electricity bills.

The Peshawar High Court Bar Association (PHCBA) had given the call for the protest. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council had backed the call.

The lawyers did not appear before the courts in the provincial capital and boycotted the court proceedings in protest against the inflated electricity bills and rising price-hike.

Meanwhile, the PHCBA held its general body meeting that passed a resolution asking the government to withdraw the hike in the electricity tariff and prices of the petroleum products.

The resolution demanded the government to end the provision of free electricity units and petrol to the Wapda and other government officers.

PHCBA President Tariq Afridi Advocate, General Secretary Lajbar Khan Advocate, and other members of the association attended the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, PHCBA President Tariq Afridi said that they would launch a movement against the increase in the gas, electricity and POL rates as well as rising inflation. The PHCBA chief said they would also ask the political parties to join their protest against the soaring prices of electricity and daily use items.

He said that the government should abolish the free quota of petrol and electricity for the government officers and Wapda employees. Tariq Afridi said that the association would also move the court to seek justice for the people.

He said that a committee comprising senior lawyers would be formed to call on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and caretaker chief minister and inform them about the concerns of the lawyer community.

He said that the PHCBA would not rest until the government took moves to bring down the prices of the daily use items and lower the electricity tariff. The lawyers also boycotted court proceedings across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.