JI to set up 25 protest camps across Karachi over power woes, petroleum levy from tomorrow

Speaking at a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq in Karachi, Zafar criticised the government’s failure to address the power disruption issues in the provincial capital as well as its insistence on collecting the petroleum levy from the already burdened citizens. The JI Karachi emir described the levy as an “extortion tax” and a “burden” on ordinary citizens.

He blamed it for worsening inflation and the rising cost of living in the country and called on the government to do away with it. Addressing the gathering, Zafar claimed that the petroleum levy had made it increasingly difficult for people to afford basic necessities, including food, rent, electricity bills and education for their children.

He alleged that Rs1,566 billion had been collected from the public through the levy during the last financial year, describing the amount as an excessive burden on citizens., workers, farmers and motorcyclists were among those bearing the impact of the levy.

Read:Oil slides as US-Iran truce hopes outweigh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia“A motorcyclist consuming approximately one litre of petrol a day pays around Rs131 in petroleum levy,” he claimed during the press conference.

He further argued that Pakistan had approximately 25 million motorcycle users and argued that a significant portion of the levy imposed on petroleum products had no direct connection with an ordinary citizen.

The JI leader reminisced that his party had organised protests against the petroleum levy by blocking roads at 710 locations across the country as part of the campaign to raise awareness of the issue. He also said sit-ins were held nationwide on August 16.

Zafar reiterated his call for the immediate withdrawal of the petroleum levy to provide relief to the citizens bogged down by inflation. Moving on to the power sector, Zafar assailed the policy regarding independent power producers (IPPs), alleging that the government was paying billions of rupees to companies despite some plants generating little to no electricity.

He welcomed the government’s decision to terminate agreements with five IPPs, but called for further action to address the capacity payments issue. Read more:K-Electric faces assembly heat“Consumers are being forced to pay for electricity generation capacity even when some power plants were not producing electricity,” he highlighted, adding that this should not be tolerated.

The JI Karachi chief also criticised K-Electric over prolonged power outages in the city. He alleged that some areas were experiencing up to 18 hours of “load-shedding”, describing the situation as a collective punishment for Karachi’s residents.

Zafar claimed that only 2-3 per cent of consumers were not paying their electricity bills and argued that K-Electric should take action against those consumers rather than disconnecting electricity to entire neighbourhoods. He said prolonged power outages were causing difficulties for children, elderly people and women.

He called on the government to take immediate measures to end load-shedding and provide relief to Karachi’s residents. Two days ago, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the suspension of the party's train march toward Islamabad at therequestof Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The party has repeatedly called on the government to ease the burden on citizens by abolishing the petroleum levy and reducing the interest rate to pull down inflation.