KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami on Thursday repeated its strike call for Friday [today] against K-Electric due to the power crisis in the city. It claimed that its call was being supported by key traders and transporters’ bodies and appealed to Karachiites to voluntarily keep their businesses closed for their basic right.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s headquarters, Idara Noor-i-Haq, JI’s Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rahman with leaders of different business and transport associations stressed that the strike would be peaceful. He said the strike call was part of its campaign to protest against the power crisis which it had launched last year and the party enjoyed every democratic and constitutional right to call for a peaceful strike.

“Our protest is a reflection of the demand of Karachiites,” he said. “That’s the reason that our strike call has been supported by different business organisations and political parties. For tomorrow’s strike, we have support of the Karachi Transport Ittehad, Karachi Tajir Ittehad, All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association, All Karachi Water Tankers Association and several other business and transport bodies. We are also thankful to our legal fraternity as the Sindh High Court Bas Association and Karachi Bar Association have supported our strike call.”

He said the party successfully held protest demonstrations and motivated the people to raise their voice against K-Electric’s “atrocities” which also pushed other parties to come up with their plans of protest. The peaceful strike, he said, would be the turning point of the campaign to build pressure on the power utility and the government to take necessary action.

“We believe it’s not a political issue,” said Hafiz Naeem. “It’s a very common and human issue of every Karachiite but, unfortunately, those who are in the government and in the opposition, claiming to have mandate of this city, are doing only lip service for this basic right of this city’s people.

“We appeal to every Karachiite, who wants Karachi to become the city of lights again, to come forward and cooperate with the Jamaat-i-Islami for this very human cause.”

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2018