The traders and the citizens of the cash-strapped Pakistan held a nationwide strike on Saturday to protest against the sky-high electricity and fuel prices in the country that have sowed widespread discontent ahead of the general elections.
According to Geo News, thousands of traders kept their shops shut over the recent hike in electricity bills that have deepened the burdens on consumers and shopkeepers as the country reels from already rising inflation.
They joined the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in calling for a nationwide strike and keeping all shops shut across Pakistan. Several small and large commercial shops and businesses were closed in the cities of Karachi, Peshawar, Sargodha and Sheikhpura, among others.
The situation became worse when the Punjab Bar Council also announced a strike against rising inflation as lawyers remained absent from courts. The lawyers in Punjab province’s Faisalabad also announced a strike, amid protests in Canal Road and Digikot demanding abolition of taxes by burning tires and blocking traffic movement on roads.
In Karachi, citizens protested against inflation in Shah Latif Town, blocking vehicular movement on the National Highway. The All Pakistan Traders Community staged a strike in Peshawar with most markets and centers shut. However, food outlets and medical stores remained open in the city.
The transgender community surrounded the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) office in Rawalpindi and staged a protest by holding placards and demanding the government to roll back the recent hike in fuel and energy prices.
Consumers have to pay bills: Pakistan caretaker PM
Despite the rising frustration and discontent over the fuel and energy price hike, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has ruled out any possibility of immediate relief and said that consumers have no other option but to pay their bills. He cited the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the reason.
“The electricity bills will need to be paid and IMF conditions will be implemented,” Kakar said.
For the previous eight days, people across Pakistan have staged protests by setting electricity bills on fire, blocking major causeways and surrounding power distributors’ offices demanding that the government to withdraw the hike in the tariffs and remove additional taxes.
The interim PM had earlier expressed sympathy for those suffering under the rising inflation and appealed the citizens to conserve power.
