LAHORE: The Jamaat-e-Islami has decided to call off nationwide protests against inflated power bills, after giving a deadline for the government to provide relief. Speaking at a public gathering on Lahore’s Mall Road, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq stated, “The government should provide relief till midnight. If relief is not provided, then I will announce the next plan in Mansoora, Lahore tomorrow [Sunday].”
In response to JI’s call for a nationwide shutdown over high electricity bills, roads were closed in major cities across the country, and businesses remained shut. This led to traffic disruptions on the National Highway.
Early on Saturday morning, political activists in Karachi ignited tires and blocked major roads as the city geared up for the shutdown. Additionally, lawyers boycotted the courts in Karachi.
In Islamabad, the trader community observed a shutter-down strike in most areas in protest against inflation and excessive electricity bills, although a few shops remained open in the Aabpara market.
For a week now, people across the country have been staging protests, demanding a reduction in electricity prices. However, the interim government has refused, citing concerns that such a move would violate a loan agreement with the IMF.
On Saturday morning, numerous individuals gathered on the National Highway near Quaidabad and Gulshan e Hadeed, where they set tires ablaze, bringing traffic to a halt on the bustling highway. Trucks carrying goods and entering or leaving the city formed long queues. The red Peoples Bus Service buses were also absent from the roads.
Similar scenes unfolded in other parts of the city, with protestors leaving burning tires in the middle of the road in the Patel Para area.
