ISLAMABAD: Pakistani traders and citizens in different cities held protest demonstrations on Friday against the rising cost of electricity amid growing inflationary pressure, warning the government to be prepared to face the “consequences” if did not address the issue that was consistently adding to the cost of living in the country.
The protests began after Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) increased the tariffs by Rs4.96 per unit last month, a condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for approving a short-term $3 billion bailout package for the South Asian state.
NEPRA periodically adjusts consumer-end tariffs after getting input from distribution companies which suggest different rates calculated on the basis of their revenue requirements.
In Karachi, a protest was organized by multiple associations of local traders along with a right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party on M.A. Jinnah Road. Similar demonstrations were also witnessed in the northwestern city of Peshawar where people criticized the government by chanting slogans against it and burning their electricity bills.
“We warn the government that if the decision to increase electricity prices is not withdrawn immediately, the consequences will be borne by the incompetent rulers,” Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry, President of Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajran Pakistan, a central association of traders in the country, said in a statement.
He added the business community had launched a string of protests against the electricity price hike and were planning to gradually spread the movement nationwide.
“We had already warned the rulers of this country not to become a tool of the international financial institutions by implementing anti-people policies,” Chaudhry said.
He maintained people residing in different cities, towns and villages had started pouring into the streets and were burning their electricity bills, adding it was their way of expressing “rebellion.”
Meanwhile, speaking to the participants of the demonstration in Karachi, Atiq Mir, Chairman of All Karachi Tajir Ithehad (AKTI), highlighted that when traders and businessmen were compelled to protest on the streets, it signaled a “genuine economic crisis in the country.”
Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, the JI chief, said criticized the government for initially increasing petrol prices before raising the cost of electricity costs. He pointed out it had become challenging for the common citizen to meet basic requirements.
In the last 30 days, Pakistan has twice raised the fuel prices under a fortnightly cost adjustment mechanism, leading to an all-time high with over 15 percent hike.
Traders underscored the recent increase in fuel and power prices, coupled with spiraling inflation, had severely hampered their business activities.
Inflation in Pakistan reached a historic peak of 38 percent in May before easing to 28.3 percent in July, though it continues to remain significantly elevated.
