Infuriated over inflated electricity bills, people continued to protest across the country on Sunday, while the MQM-P, sensing the delicacy of the situation, announced starting a campaign if relief was not provided to the masses, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Two arrests for burning electricity bills
Islamabad Police arrested two workers of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) for protesting against electricity bills.
The JI spokesperson strongly condemned the arrests of the party workers in Islamabad and said the protest was the constitutional right of the people.
He said if their workers were not released immediately, the government would be responsible for the consequences.
Protesters block Express Highway in Islamabad
Protesters in Islamabad also held a demonstration against electricity, gas, water bills and inflation and blocked the Express Highway at the point of Dhok Kala Khan.
Due to the closure of the road, long queues of vehicles were formed. After recording the token protest, protesters opened the Express Highway for traffic but warned the administration that in the next phase of protest against inflation and bills, the traffic would be completely blocked.
Protest demonstrations in Lahore
People in the Nawabpura locality of Lahore, led by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) candidate from PP-168 Ahmad Salman Baloch, held a demonstration.
They threatened that they would lay siege to the LESCO’s office at Rehmanpura.
Similarly, a large number of residents of Qaiser Chowk in Shahdara, men and women both, came out on the roads to register their protest against the bills.
They shouted slogans against the government.
Traders in Rawalpindi announce demonstration
Traders of Rawalpindi, too, announced to register their protest against the bills.
Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce said it would hold a large protest demonstration at the city’s Kutchehry Chowk on Tuesday.
People protest at Narowal, Naushehra
A large number of people participated in a demonstration in different cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Narowal and Naushehra.
The protestors torched their electricity bills and shouted slogans against the government.
They said they were fed up with the increase in the power tariff that had now become a routine.
They said not a single government had devised a policy to provide relief to the inflation-hit people.
They threatened the government with expanding their protest to the entire district in case it failed to bring down the electricity rates.
Demonstrations were also reported from other cities, including Multan and Hujra Shah Muqeem.
MQM-P announces launching campaign
Urging the government to take steps to provide immediate relief to masses, MQM-P, on the other hand, said it would launch a campaign if the same situation persisted.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, party’s Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said it was feared that demonstrations could turn into riots.
Another MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar said the country was heading towards anarchy as people belonging to the upper middle class, too, were finding it hard to make both ends meet in these times of inflation.
Reporters: Tauqeer Akram, Fareeha Batool, Irshad Qureshi, Yasir Arafat and Ayub Faridi