JI to stage protest sit-in outside Governor’s House

Ameer of the Karachi chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami Munem Zafar has announced a sit-in protest outside the Sindh Governor’s House in Karachi on Wednesday. The demonstration is part of a broader campaign demanding the withdrawal of agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), revocation of K-Electric’s (KE) licence, a reduction in inflation, and a revision of the tax regime.

Zafar made the announcement during a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, JI Karachi’s headquarters. He was flanked by JI leaders Taufiquddin Siddiqui, Zahid Askari, Najeeb Ayubi, and Imran Shahid. Zafar revealed that his party plans to stage sit-ins outside Governor Houses across the country, in addition to a major protest in Islamabad, to intensify pressure on the government.

Zafar slammed the government and its predecessors for misleading the nation regarding capacity charges for IPPs. He pointed out that several IPPs received Rs10 billion despite generating no electricity, while others received billions despite generating only 10 per cent of their capacity. Zafar condemned this practice as a wasteful scheme of kickbacks and called for an end to it.

He also denounced KE’s recent demand for a Rs5.45 per unit increase in fuel adjustment charges, which would place an additional Rs10 billion burden on Karachi residents. Zafar rejected the proposed increase and warned against any plans to pay KE in dollars, demanding a forensic audit of KE and IPPs’ accounts.