PESHAWAR: Activists of Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Pakhtunkhwa Jamhoori Ittehad on Friday held protest rallies and demonstrations in various parts of the province against increasing prices of essential commodities, including flour and sugar, and power and gas tariffs.

They asked the government to take immediate steps for providing relief to the masses by bringing down the commodity prices and energy tariffs. They held the government responsible for the ongoing flour and sugar crises, increasing unemployment and collection of additional taxes.

In Peshawar, JI workers staged a protest demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club against the price hike and flour and sugar crises. The participants were holding placards and banners carrying slogans against the PTI government’s policies.

The protest was led by JI provincial leaders, including provincial deputy chief Sabir Hussain,, media coordinator Jamaat Ali Shah and JI Peshawar district chief Ateequr Rehman. A large number of party workers participated in the protest and marched on GT Road.

Similarly, the JUI-F’s protest was led by Maulana Amanulalh Haqqani, Abdul Jalil Jan and others. The participants, who gathered at Hashtnagri Chowk, shouted slogans against price hike and corruption and described the government’s policies a total failure.

Ask govt to bring down power and gas tariffs

The JUI-F leaders said that the masses had been deceived in the name of ‘change’ and ‘Naya Pakistan’. They asked the government to stop the economic genocide of poor masses and take steps to overcome the increasing inflation and ensure availability of flour and sugar on subsided rates.

The workers of component parties of Pakhtunkhwa Jamhoori Ittehed, an alliance of nationalist parties, also took out a protest rally against increasing prices of food commodities.

The rally was led by QWP provincial chairman Sikandar Sherpao, Shahab Khattak advocate, Tariq Ahmed Khan and others which started from Khyber Bazaar and ended outside the Peshawar Press Club.

The speakers said that it was now clear that the government was following IMF policies without any regard for the masses.

In Timergara, the Lower Dir chapter of Jamaat-i-Islami on the call of its chief Sirajul Haq held protest rallies at different places against price hike, flour crisis and unemployment.

The JI workers blocked the road at Samar Bagh and Timergara for over an hour and chanted slogans against the PTI government. The rallies were addressed by JI district emir Izazul Mulk, Muzaffar Syed and others.

The JI leaders announced that they would mobilise masses to come on the roads against the government. They said corruption had increased under PTI government as reflected in the recent report of Transparency International.

In Battagram, JI organised a demonstration to protest against inflation and shortage of flour in the country.

JI local chapter general secretary Khalid Khan led the protest. The speakers said that the PTI-led government had failed to run the government affairs. They said that shortage of flour had been created through artificial ways to pave the way for its import for earning commissions.

In Charsadda, JI and JUI-F organised rallies and blocked the motorway link road to protest the unprecedented price hike in the country.

The protest was led by JUI-F district chief Maulana Gohar Shah, while the JI was represented by its district chief Mohammad Riaz Khan.

In Upper Dir, the JI and JUI-F jointly organised a protest demonstration against flour crisis in the country and price hike.

The leaders and workers of the two parties marched to Dir Chowk where besides others Sahibzada Tariqullah of JI and Mufti Ihsan JUI-F said that significant rise in inflation during one year had made life miserable for the masses.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2020