FAISALABAD: Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) activists took out rallies on Sunday in different cities to protest the price hikes.

Scores of people staged protest rallies and gathered at the Clock Tower intersection where they chanted slogans against price hike on Sunday.

The rallies arrived at the intersection from different areas under the banner of the PDM. Rallies gathered at the Zila Council Chowk and marched on the Clock Tower. Due to the rallies, traffic remained out of gear on the University Road.

Speakers, including Haji Akram Ansari, Sheikh Ijaz, Rao Kashif and Hamid Rasheed, said masses were finding it difficult to run their both ends meet due to the surging price of the essential items, fuel and utilities.

Talking to reporters, Inam Ahsan, who is from Muzaffargarh, said he was unable to send even a few thousand rupees to his family as his income had reduced a lot. He said he was working as a labourer at the yarn market where the traders are also facing a financial crunch.

A couple of days ago, textile industrialists also spoke against the depreciation of the rupee, while Powerlooms owners, traders and labourers have also formed an alliance against the government and announced a protest demonstration on Oct 27.

OKARA: Scores of Jamaat-i-Islami workers, led by district emir Dr Babar Rashid and sub-divisional emir Salman Azhar Sheikh, took out a rally against price hike and protested at Dipalpur Chowk on GT Road. Workers chanted slogans against the government for its failure to counter unjust profits by traders for utility items, and high rates of electricity, gas and petroleum products.

TOBA TEK SINGH: JI activists took out on Sunday a rally in Gojra to condemn the government over its failure to control the price hike. It started from the Shuhada mosque on Jhang road and reached Malkanwala Chowk in the main bazaar. Addressing the protesters, district JI emir Mian Arif Mahmood and leader Dr Attaullah Hameed said that poor people had reached on the verge of starvation, but the rulers were claiming the country was running on the path of progress and development.

GUJRAT: The PDM held a show in front of Gujranwala press Club where MNA Khurram Dastgir Khan , Saeed Kalervi of Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl, Maulana Ibrahim of the Jammiat Ahle Hadith, MNA Mehmood Basheer Virk and MPA Imran Khalid Butt spoke.

Participants were carrying banners and placards inscribed with anti-government slogans while workers also showed off the flags of their parties at the demonstration.

Mr Dastgir said that the PTI government had failed to honour its commitments made to the masses during the last general elections as prices of food items were unaffordable for the poor.

Quoting the prices of last tenure of PML N, he said when Nawaz Sharif came into power in 2013, per kilogram sugar rate was Rs55 and when the PML N govenrment completed its term, the price of sugar was Rs53 which was reduced by Rs2 per kg.

Similarly, he said, the country’s currency witnessed an unprecedented depreciation during the PTI government’s three years tenure but Prime Minister Imran Khan had only stuck into the eggs, hens and calves.

MNAs Usman Ibrahim, Mehmood Basheer Virk, Zulfiqar Bhinder and Dr Nisar Cheema also spoke.

They claimed that the country would soon see the rise of PML N’s flag right from Khyber to Karachi.

MULTAN: Two protest demonstrations were held at Hussain Agaahi Chowk and Vehari Chowk.

PML-N District President Bilal Butt, JUI-F emir Ayaz Qasmi and others led the protest demonstration at Hussain Agaahi Chowk and blocked the most busiest road of the city by burning tyres.

Speakers said that their protest was not for the sake of their self rather they were doing so for the entire nation as every segment of society had suffered badly because of the incompetency of the rulers.

At Vehari Chowk, former MNAs Syed Javed Ali Shah and Malik Abdul Ghaffar Dogar led the protesters and blocked the main road blocking traffic to Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Lahore, Khanewal and Lodhran causing hardship for the people that were traveling from one district to another district. There was a long queue of vehicles on roads.

The PDM on Sunday protested in Multan and Bhakkar as a part of their campaign against soaring inflation, unemployment and other economic issues.

In Bhakkar, protesters gathered outside the Umar Farooq Masjid located at Muhammadi Chowk and organized a rally which concluded at King Gate.

JUI-F provincial general secretary Maulana Safiullah, PML-N District President Abdul Majeed Khan Khanan Khel and PML-N General Secretary Irfanullah Niazi led the rally which also was attended by the workers of Jamiat Ulama Pakistan, Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadees Youth Force and the workers of other PMD allied parties.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2021