Rally against inflation and gas, power shortage
Perturbed by rising inflation and power outages, citizens take to the streets.
Hundreds of working class people, including women and children, staged a rally against inflation, loadshedding of electricity and gas and privatisation policy in Rawalpindi on Thursday. The rally, organised by Labour Party Pakistan (LPP), started from Committee Chowk and marched up to Liaquat Bagh, chanting slogans against the government, said a press release issued by the LPP.
The participants were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans like “no to price hike”, “withdraw increase in prices of electricity and gas”, “stop privatisation”, and “No to IMF and World Bank conditionalities”.
Speaking at the rally, LPP general secretary Advocate Nisar Shah said that Pakistan is facing the worst energy crisis, for which the ruling elites are responsible.
Shah said Pakistan is under $60 billion foreign debt, which is one of the main factors contributing to poverty as it takes a major portion of the national budget.
Shah also criticised the government’s strategy of engaging rental power plants, instead of focusing on small-scale dams.
Talat Rubab, Home Based Women Workers coordinator, said that the government policies are badly affecting the lives of working people.
“There is no gas at home, and wood is very expensive to burn. Most of the time of the women is spent in preparing food and they have no time for the home-based work; life is becoming hell for women workers,” Rubab said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2012.