Lawyers warn of protest against power bills
The Peshawar District Bar Association on Monday warned the government of street protests by the lawyers in the first week of next month if it did not withdraw the increase in the electricity bills immediately.
In a meeting, chaired by its President Ashfaq Ahmed Khalil Advocate, the district bar decided to convene an all lawyers convention in September on the issue of inflated bills of electricity, which had gone beyond the capacity of the ordinary people.
The meeting was attended by bar General Secretary Iftikhar Samandar, senior members Noor Alam Khan, Taimur Shah, Maulana Shamsul Haque, Hikmatullah Jan, Tariq Yousafzai, Umair Azam, Niaz Muhammad, Qaiser Shah, Bilal Khan Khalil, Khalid Hameed and others.
The layers slammed the increase in the basic electricity tariff and 13 types of illegal taxes on it; increase in the prices of fuel and other items of daily life; unannounced electricity and gas load-shedding and the anti-people policy of the government.
The participants raised serious concerns that because of inflation, people were being forced to commit suicide because of hunger and poverty, while street crimes were increasing day-by-day, as a result people's lives and property were not safe.
QWP warning
The Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) on Monday announced protests across K-P against the “unjust increase” in electricity prices and “oppressive” taxes.
In this regard, the first protest is planned to be held in Peshawar on Thursday.
As part of this series, the party hosted a critical session in Peshawar, which was attended by the party's provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, provincial Secretary-General Hashim Babar, provincial Deputy Secretary-General Dr Farooq Aziz and Peshawar District General Secretary Haji Fakhr Zaman.
The participants expressed strong resentment and anger over the escalating electricity rates.
During the meeting, it was decided to initiate a protest movement throughout the province.
The party demanded an immediate rollback of these “unjust” price hikes, warning vigorous protests against this “unfair” move by the government.
The party leaders claimed that they would strive on all fronts until a resolution to this crucial public issue was achieved.
Addressing the excessive surge in electricity bills, they stressed that such an unchecked increase was nothing less than a punishment for the economically burdened population. Expressing concern, they highlighted that after record increases in electricity rates, inflation had pushed the basic necessities beyond the reach of the common people, depriving them of the right to live a decent life and leaving them anxious about obtaining their daily bread.
They criticized the sale of electricity, which costs around 2 rupees per unit to produce, being sold to the public for 50 to 55 rupees, a level of injustice and unfairness.
Similarly, numerous other parties, including civil society groups, have announced protests against the soaring price hikes amid unprecedented inflation that have snatched the survival hope from poor people.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2023.