KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami on Saturday staged a protest sit-in outside the K-Electric head office in Gizri under its ongoing campaign against electricity crisis, inflated bills and poor performance of the power utility.

The JI warned that it could go to any extent to get rights for the people of Karachi in line with the Constitution and democratic norms. It urged the people to lay siege to the KE head office on Sunday.

The sit-in came after a week of the campaign it had announced and during the last seven days it staged over half a dozen protest demonstrations in different parts of city, accusing both the KE and the federal government of ruining the lives of Karachiites during the extremely hot and humid weather.

A large number of people, including women and children, who attended the sit-in, chanted slogans against the power utility for its “inhuman attitude”, consistent failure in running smooth power supply system and no change in its performance during the past decade.

Speaking at the sit-in, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rahman also took both the federal and provincial governments of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party to task, holding them responsible for miseries of Karachiites.

Urges people to besiege K-Electric today

“The PTI government has proved itself nothing but a change of faces,” he said. “How a private company can become above state, law, humanity and the government? But, yes, it’s happening and happening right under the nose of Prime Minister Imran Khan. No one can dare question the KE. But here we want to make it clear that the Jamaat-i-Islami is undeterred and would continue to raise its voice against the high-handedness of this company.”

Apart from JI workers, a large number of area residents, notables and people from all walks of life also took part in the sit-in.

The JI Karachi chief refuted the KE administration’s claims regarding reduction in loadshedding. He said 75 per cent of the population of the metropolis was facing loadshedding.

He said that the then KESC was privatised on the pretext of losses and now the government was paying a whopping Rs95 billion subsidy to the KE from the national exchequer.

Strongly criticising the KE administration, he said the private company had failed the purpose of the then KESC’s privatisation. He dubbed the conduct of the KE as “criminal”.

Referring to the recent comments of federal minister Hammad Azhar, he expressed his displeasure over the federal government which was adamant that the KE’s performance was satisfactory. Such comments and the federal government’s intentions to waive Rs500bn liable on the KE amounted to adding insult to injury.

“We will further expose the political class and parties supporting the KE on June 13,” he said.

Census results

Further talking about the role of the political class in depriving Karachi of its due rights, he highlighted the significance of census and said that the PTI enjoyed 14 National Assembly seats in Karachi and the MQM had four NA seats.

Criticising the political parties, he said that they played a shameful role in connection with the approval of the flawed results of the last census. He said that those political parties also played a shameful role in connection with the conduct of the government and leniency showed to the KE just for the vested interests of the ruling regimes.

He urged the masses to come forward on Saturday, June 13, to besiege the KE in order to record a protest against the power utility company that was allowed by the government to keep intact its monopoly in the power sector.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2021