KARACHI: The city’s traders have threatened the government of stopping paying utility bills from August 31, if the exploitation by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and K-Electric does not end.

They said the soaring costs of electricity, petrol, and gas are crippling businesses and leading to factory closures in the country. They completely rejected the government’s trader-friendly scheme as “so-called” and “absurd”.

They said the trader-friendly scheme is rather harmful to the businesses, adding fuel to the fire by imposing a monthly fee of 60,000 rupees per shop. Traders warned the government that any coercive measures will trigger widespread protests across the country’s markets.

Traders also held a protest demonstration under “Save Livelihood Movement” at the city’s Bolton Market, the other day.

Speaking at the protest, Chairman Karachi Tajir Ittehad, Muhammad Atiq Mir said that the IPPs and Pakistan cannot coexist and vowed to fight for their rights to the end.

He declared that “traders will no longer tolerate government exploitation,” censuring the rulers for imposing excessive taxes on traders and citizens instead of curtailing their personal and official lavish lifestyles.

Chairman, Sindh Tajir Ittehad, Jameel Paracha praised Jamaat-e-Islami’s Chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman for his sit-in protest continuing into eight-day in Islamabad for the rights of the public and traders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024