PM Kakar summons ’emergency meeting’ over power price as nationwide anger swells over inflated electricity bills
As the people in different cities threatened to start a civil disobedience movement and stop paying extremely high electricity bills on Saturday, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar summoned an emergency meeting on Sunday in Islamabad over the consumers’ bills.
The prime minister has directed the ministry of energy and the power distributions companies to present detailed briefing over the issue, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release on Saturday.
The meeting would mull over provision of maximum relief to the masses over electricity bills.
On Saturday, the people assembled in small and major cities across the country to protest against the inflated electricity bills and expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the deepening economic crisis.
Earlier a protest in Karachi, which was also supported by Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), demanded a reduction in the ever-increasing electricity prices and additional taxes imposed through power bills.
Speaking on the occasion, trade leaders and representatives of Jamaat-i-Islami expressed their concerns. “We reject the excessive charges being collected by K-Electric in our electricity bills,” stated a trade leader, saying that JI always takes a stand on the problems of the masses.
Addressing the protesters, JI’s Karachi Amir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, warned that if the government continues to burden the public, the situation could further deteriorate. “Our struggle is against the white-collar mafia in KE,” he affirmed, underscoring the commitment to represent the people’s interests.
The recent surge in utility bills is attributed to the hike in the price of electricity, aligned with the government’s commitments to the IMF. This increase, coupled with additional taxes, has fueled public anger and mistrust towards the authorities.
The disgruntled residents assembled in different cities such as Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and others, to vent their anger and frustration over the power bills they have been receiving over the past several months.
In major cities, traders spearheaded the demonstrations, asserting to stop payment of electricity bills which they said are beyond the financial means of people.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital Peshawar also echoed with public discontent with costly inflated electricity and gas bills. They said that unrelenting power outages and excessive taxation on their electricity bills had forced them to come out on roads. They burnt their electricity bills as a mark of protest.
Demonstrations were also held in other cities where the protesters vented their anger against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco).
In Karachi, people in large numbers participated in demonstrations in several areas. A demonstration was held against K-Electric with traders also lending their support to the cause of the common man. The protesters raised slogans against K-Electric. They carried banners, posters and placards.
The Punjab provincial capital, Lahore, reverberated with protest demonstrations in various localities. The protesters criticized the government for imposing heavy taxes through the electricity bills and urged an immediate withdrawal of taxes in electricity costs. Protesters in Rawalpindi gathered near Liaquat Bagh to decry the exorbitant electricity charges. Holding out their electricity bills, they refused to make payments. They called upon the government to take immediate measures to curtail the electricity costs and cautioned that the protest could escalate into a broader movement if their grievances remained unaddressed. – News Agencies / Web Desk
