Jamaat-e-Islami in Karachi likely to stage protests on July 4 and 6 due to electricity disruption and ‘unjust’ fiscal year 2024-25 budget. JI Karachi Chief Munem Zafar announced the protest at a seminar in Idara Noor-e-Haq, attended by many trade leaders. According to Zafar, the protest will staged in Saddar this Thursday and and Liaquatabad on Saturday. Zafar stated that the country is in deep social unrest due to poor economic policies, which have triggered historic levels of inflation. He warned that those suffering the most from the growing cost of living will resort to drastic actions. Zafar criticized the government’s economic policies, as reflected in the new budget proposals, saying they have devastated traders, industrialists, exporters, and the salaried class alike. He claimed the tax system widely favors the rich while squeezing the poor and middle class, with the government primarily focused on collecting taxes from salaried individuals, amounting to Rs360 billion, while only collecting Rs4 billion from large landowners.

The JI leader censured the coalition government for providing an Rs174 billion subsidy to K-Electric, which he referred to as the “murderer electric”, stating that the public’s daily life has been disrupted by higher fuel, water, and electricity costs. He added that the government has ended subsidies of Rs3000 billion on essential items like flour, pulses, milk, and medicines, which will further exacerbate the economic problems of the poor. Zafar also criticized the government for increasing the spending on the President’s House and Prime Minister’s House by 30% in the next fiscal year, allocating Rs17500 billion. Karachi Tajir Ittehad Atiq Mir had expressed that IMF has dictated the country’s economic policies, indicating towards IMF who had ruined 70 other economies of different countries of the world and now has aimed to fail Pakistan’s economy.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan