Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq on Sunday announced that his party would reach out the Supreme Court to challenge agreements forged by past governments with independent power producers (IPPs)
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore after the meeting, Sirajul Haq attributed the recent surge in electricity bills to these agreements.
He expressed gratitude to the people and the trader community for their participation in Saturday’s strike, emphasizing that it conveyed a message to the government that “we don’t accept those agreements which past governments made with IPPs.”
He accused those who signed these agreements of betraying the nation and perpetrating injustice.
Haq noted that the strike had provided an opportunity for the caretaker government to reevaluate these agreements in light of public dissatisfaction and discontent regarding power costs.
The JI leader announced plans to use the right to information to obtain details of the IPP agreements and take the matter to the Supreme Court, where they intend to expose these agreements to the nation.
Furthermore, Haq called for protests outside the governor houses in all four provinces and issued a warning that the JI could initiate a wheel-jam strike if electricity price increases were not reversed.
Haq argued that IPP deals had disproportionately favored the elite classes while burdening the wider public.
He also criticized the surge in petroleum product prices and called for its reversal.
Last month, the national average tariff was raised by approximately Rs5 per unit by the power regulator, elevating the base unit power tariff from Rs24.82 to Rs29.78. On August 22, the government proposed another increase of Rs3.55 per unit in the power rate.
These developments sparked widespread protests led by traders and the general public in various cities. Fueled by discontent over inflated power bills, people have taken to the streets in recent days to protest the unbearable price hikes and inflated bills.
Yesterday, large portions of the country observed a shutter-down strike and organized protest rallies, following calls from various traders’ associations and the JI, to demonstrate against the rising electricity bills and petroleum prices. Provincial capitals in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan remained completely shut, while Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad saw partial shutdowns.
