Pakistan: Protests gain momentum countrywide against inflated electricity bills
Aug 28, 2023
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 28 : Every day in Pakistan, more people are joining the nationwide protest against excessive electricity prices. As a form of protest, people are taking to the streets and burning their banknotes, ARY News reported.
Protests against the exorbitant electricity prices have spread across the entire nation, from Karachi to Khyber, and some protests are now turning violent.
People in Karachi demonstrated against the excessive bills that K-Electric, the city's only electricity provider, gave out. People expressed their displeasure that their bills exceeded their salaries, according to ARY News, a news channel that operates in Pakistan.
A large number of people demonstrated in Peshawar. People declare that they will not remain silent in the face of this "injustice." Additionally, traders from Lahore Square and Ganj Bazaar set fire to power bills to document their protest.
At Committee Chowk in Rawalpindi, protesters gathered and burned bills as they raised slogans against the government to end the imposition of electricity bills.
Protesters in Gujranwala besieged the Gujranwala Electric Power Company office in an effort to draw attention to the high cost of electricity.
Other cities, such as Narowal, Attock, Sargodha, and Haripur, also saw demonstrations against excessive electricity costs.
It should be mentioned that the issue of growing electricity costs was addressed at an emergency meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar at the Prime Minister's House.
Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said that the meeting was held at the PM's office in Islamabad and it went for over two hours.
The details of the meeting would be shared in a press release that will be shared shortly, he added, according to Dawn.
As per the prior statement from Pakistan’s PMO office, consultations will be held during the meeting regarding giving maximum relief to consumers regarding electricity bills.
Kakar decided to conduct the emergency meeting as protests have been going on in cities across the country due to the increased electricity bills on the back of a significant increase in the national average tariff.
According to Dawn, the premier will seek briefings from the power division as well as power distribution companies (Discos), to provide “maximum relief to consumers” in this regard.
Moreover, the government has also made a plan to withdraw subsidised electricity availed by Discos and government officers in grades 17 and above.
