Public, traders in Pakistan observe shutter-down against exorbitant power bills

Owing to the rising cost of living and exorbitant electricity bills amid sky-rocketing inflation, the public including traders in Pakistan are observing a nationwide shutter-down strike with many taking to the streets, The News reported.

The recent hike in power bills has angered the country's already-burdened consumers, as well as traders, who have been surviving by a thread due to the ongoing back-breaking inflation in the country.

Despite the protests and refusal of the public to pay hiked bills, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has ruled out any possibility of immediate relief. He has, instead, said there is no option for consumers but to pay their bills, while the interim government tries to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the issue.

“The electricity bills will need to be paid and IMF conditions will be implemented,” Kakar said, The News reported.

Meanwhile, the public and traders have joined the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) supporting its call for a shutter-down strike during which small and large commercial shops and businesses have been closed in cities including Karachi, Peshawar, Sargodha and Sheikhupura, among others.

The Punjab Bar Council also announced a strike against inflation with lawyers also absent from courts.

In Karachi, citizens protested against inflation in Shah Latif Town, blocking the flow of traffic on the National Highway, The News reported.

The lawyers of the district bar in Faisalabad announced a strike, too, with protests in the city recorded by citizens at Canal Road and Digikot demanding abolishing taxes by burning tires and blocking the road for traffic.

Transgenders in Rawalpindi surrounded the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) office, holding banners and placards, and demanding the government to immediately roll back the hike in petrol and electricity prices, The News reported.