KARACHI: Central Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Saturday announced a shutter-down strike on August 28 against inflated electricity tariffs and soaring inflation.

“The JI is going for a strike jointly with traders on August 28 against the increase in electricity bills and inflation,” he told a news conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq.

He said that the government has to enforce the terms, which it has agreed with the JI for a cut in power tariffs and introduction of mechanism to arrest the galloping inflation.

Beginning the countdown with 36 days left to the deadline, which has been set for the implementation of the Islamabad agreement, Hafiz Naeem urged the coalition rule to help provide the public and traders with a financial relief.

The relentless pressure through political galvanisation by the JI has forced the Punjab government to provide much-needed relief to the citizens taking place over the next two months, he claimed, saying that the power tariffs issue needs a permanent solution.

He urged other provinces including Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to follow suit, saying that the electricity bills relief should reach everyone across the country. “Especially Sindh should step up to reduce power prices for the citizens since it has an outlay of Rs3 trillion fiscal budget with an inclusion of Rs1885 billion,” Hafiz Naeem said.

At various stages of election campaigns, he said that the PPP leadership had pledged to give away 100 units of free electricity to the citizens, he recalled and urged the Sindh government to honour the promise without further delay.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024