KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said that the party will put up resistance against the PPP-led Sindh government’s decision to collect local taxes through electricity bills.

Addressing a press conference at JI Karachi headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq, he said that his also rejected the committee formed by the government to ‘occupy’ graveyards.

He said that the collection of local taxes through electricity bills was sheer injustice, adding that the issue would be taken up on all available forums.

The JI would protest against payment of electricity bills if the decision was not withdrawn, he said. The Sindh government had already withheld billions of rupees under the head of octroi tax to be paid to Karachi, he noted.

Immediate announcement of LG election demanded

He questioned the Sindh government over the volume of tax collection from feudal lords and capitalists in the province.

He said feudal lords and capitalists in Sindh had made a large number of people their slaves while the government in Sindh backed by them exploited the masses in urban areas of the province, particularly Karachi.

Talking about the K-Electric, the JI leader said that power utilities in the country, including the private company operating in Karachi, had sent bills for 37 days, instead of 30 days. However, he said, the government and Nepra did not take any action against the KE in a ‘blatant show of dishonesty’.

Responding to a questing about cantonment areas, he said that the PPP, the PTI and the MQM were provided with many chances in cantonment areas, but they never delivered.

He expressed the hope that preparations for local government elections might have been completed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. He added that it was the duty of the ECP to ensure free and fair elections on time in addition to resolving issues immediately.

The JI leader asked the Sindh government to immediately announce holding of local bodies’ elections.

He said that an empowered LG institution was mandatory to resolve the chronic issues being faced by citizens in Karachi but the three ruling parties did not want the election to be held.

Mr Rehman claimed that Prime Minister Imran Khan was treating Karachi as a ‘stepdaughter’. The premier postponed his Sunday’s visit to Karachi to avoid questions about the Rs1,100 billion package, he claimed, and said that the PTI government would have to show the implementation report of the package.

He said that the PPP launched Murtaza Wahab as Karachi administrator but the mindset behind introducing a political figure was ‘feudalism’.

He highlighted the contribution of Late Niamatullah Khan in development of the city and particularly the K-III and K-IV projects.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2021