KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Karachi chapter on Tuesday announced to hold protest demonstrations in the city against long-hours unchecked power outages and the “unjust” fiscal budget 2024-25.
Speaking at a seminar, which a large number of trade leaders attended at Idara Noor-e-Haq to discuss the rising inflation and IMF “dictated” fiscal budget, Munem Zafar, the JI Karachi Chief announced the protests for July 4 and July 6.
Traders landed their “full” to the protests, which the JI leader said, will take place in the city’s downtown area Saddar this Thursday and Liaquatabad locality on Saturday to condemn the huge electricity load shedding and the hostile budget.
The economy moot gathered a consensus view amongst the traders on the budget, which they unanimously termed “unjust”, blaming the federal ruling coalition for the economic “mismanagement” and “plundering”.
Munem Zafar told the event that the country is in deep unrest from poor economic policies, triggering the historic inflation. Those who are suffering the worst from the growing cost of living, he warned, will make a bursting act.
He said that the poor economic policies, which the fresh budget proposals transpired, have ravaged traders, industrialists, exporters and salaried class alike. The taxation disparities widely favor the rich and squeeze the poor and middle class. The government’s primary focus stays on collecting taxes from the salaried class, which according to him, stood to the tune of Rs360 billion but gleaning only Rs4 billion from the favored land lords.
He censured the coalition rule for giving Rs174 billion subsidy to the K-Electric, which also dubbed as “murderer electric”, saying that the public’s daily life has been devastated by higher fuel oil prices, water and electricity scarcity. He added that the government has ended its subsidies of Rs3000 billion on flour, pulses, milk and medicines, which are going to further add to the poor’s economic problems.
The JI leader also criticized the government for boosting up president house and the prime minister house spending by allocating Rs17500 billion in the budget, higher 30 percent for the next fiscal year.
Atiq Mir, Chairman Karachi Tajir Ittehad said that the country’s economic policies are termed by the IMF, which has already ruined at least 70 economies of the world through its plans, now with an aim at Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024