On Monday, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) initiated a three-day sit-in outside the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor House in Peshawar to protest against the surge in electricity and petroleum prices and heightened inflation. The protest, part of a larger campaign, was joined by the party’s Amir, Sirajul Haq, who arrived in Peshawar for the sit-in. Containers had been placed near a museum near the Governor’s House to facilitate the protest.
A spokesperson from JI conveyed that the protest was peaceful, intending to persuade the government to retract the perceived unjust price hikes. The party plans to appeal to the Supreme Court against the escalated costs. Moreover, further protests have been scheduled in Lahore, Quetta, and Karachi in the coming weeks.
During the Ulema Convention, Siraj pointed fingers at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the PTI governments for the spiralling prices, specifically criticizing PDM’s president, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for neglecting the inflation issue. He argued that the current political leaders, including those from PTI, PDM, and PPP, primarily served the International Monetary Fund’s interests, thus failing to secure citizens’ necessities. Siraj emphasized the urgent need for competent leadership for Pakistan’s sustainable development and urged the public to voice their concerns instead of surrendering their rights silently.
Siraj acknowledged the public’s support during the September 2 nationwide strike and questioned the escalating prices of essential items, attributing them to the IMF’s consistent influence on the ruling governments. He proposed exploring cheaper energy alternatives like solar, hydroelectric, wind, and atomic power to offer affordable electricity rates, asserting that the current leadership were merely agents of the IMF and a shift in direction was imperative for the nation’s progress.
