Hafiz Naeemur Rahman of Amir Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan speaks at a press conference on the second day of the sit-in. Image/X/ @JIPOfficial
Pakistan’s right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Saturday vowed to continue protests in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi as sit-ins to pressure the government to cut electricity tariffs and taxes for salaried workers entered a second day.
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Electricity prices in crisis-hit Pakistan have soared after the country agreed to raise tariffs to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which demanded Pakistan increase tax revenues as one of its conditions in contentious and drawn-out negotiations with Islamabad.
Related article: Pakistan’s new budget taxes already struggling middle class, lets rich ‘eat cake’
What makes Pakistan’s budget so controversial is the fact that, without providing any relief to the middle class, parliament has increased the effective income tax rate for salaried individuals to 39 percent from last year, the corporate income tax rate to 44 percent, and for non-salaried individuals to 50 percent.
Interestingly, the Shehbaz Sharif government has exempted income tax on the sale of immovable property by serving or retired bureaucrats and serving or retired military personnel.
Taxes are rising on already stressed wage earners at a time when certain segments of society have lost almost half their purchasing power over the past five years.
For the second day on Saturday, the party staged a protest to hold a rally at D-Chowk in Islamabad. However, JI’s operation was blocked by police. The party later changed its plans and announced that it would hold sit-ins at three other locations, including Murli Road and Chungi No. 22 in Rawalpindi and H-8 Bridge in Islamabad.
JI leader Hafiz Naeem, addressing protesters camped along Murli Road, the main artery connecting the garrison city with Islamabad, vowed to continue the sit-in until their demands were met.
“Our demand is simple, we want the government to provide relief to the people,” he said, adding that the party was aware of the difficulties but was confident that the electricity bill issue could be resolved.
He said the protests would continue until their main demands were met, detailing that renegotiations be held with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), a group of power companies blamed for the exorbitant hike in electricity tariffs.
Naeem also said he was ready to hold talks with the government if it showed seriousness in addressing the issues raised by JI. He said the government should first set up a committee for such talks.
He also announced that he would address a massive rally at Murree Road on Sunday evening and asked people from all walks of life to attend as his party is fighting for people’s rights.
JI is one of Pakistan’s oldest political parties and is known for holding large-scale protests. So far, the protests have been peaceful, but Naeem claimed dozens of party members have been arrested and demanded their immediate release. PTI SH PY Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters also demonstrated across the country, with hundreds of party members arrested on Friday. They were protesting against rising electricity prices and demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan.
With input from the agency.
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