Activists protest against anti-poor policies

As part of a global campaign to fight against inequality, activists in Karachi on Wednesday also gathered to show their anger against the rulers for pursuing “wrong economic policies and following anti-poor advice” of the International Monitory Fund (IMF) as well as for imposing unnecessary taxes on people.

The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, a rights body of the fishing community, organised the protest outside the Karachi Press Club on the global call of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, a regional alliance of peoples’ movements, community organisations, coalitions, NGOs and networks across Asia.

The protest was part of a global protest against inequality carried out in 30 countries to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A number of civil society and rights activists, including Fatima Majeed, Asad Iqbal Butt, Karamat Ali, Nasir Mansoor and Zehra Khan, attended the protest.

Protesters said that because of the government’s anti-poor politics, the people in the country had been facing inequality in income, education, employment, gender-based bias, healthcare and access to clean water among many other problems.

They said the government of Pakistan had imposed unnecessary taxes on the people and ratcheted up the rate of the dollar against the rupee, which had broken the back of the working class, including labourers.

They said inequality in Asia was on the rise.