PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Bar Council on Wednesday condemned continuous hike in prices of essential commodities including petroleum products and exorbitant bills of electricity and natural gas and announce province-wide strike of lawyers on Thursday (today).

In a joint statement issued here, the KP Bar Council’s vice chairman Zarbadshah Khan and its executive committee chairman Syed Mubashir Shah demanded of the government to forthwith abolish free provision of electricity, natural gas and petrol and free air tickets provided to bureaucrats, judges, army officers, etc.

They stated that continuous price hike especially of essential commodities had badly affected the general public and made their lives miserable. They stated that the legal fraternity would observe complete boycott of all the courts on Thursday.

They directed all the district and tehsil bar associations to hold protest meetings in their respective barrooms. They also announced that the bar council would provide free legal assistance to people in cases in the consumers courts.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court Bar Association has taken serious notice of the current situation in the country and has expressed deep concern over the present wave of price hike, unjust and unwarranted increase in the electricity bills and exorbitant increase in the prices of petroleum products.

A meeting of the PHCBA’s executive council was held on Wednesday under the chairmanship of its president Mohammad Tariq Afridi and was also attended by its secretary general Lajbar Khan, vice president Sawar Khan, joint secretary Noor Wali Khan, finance secretary Nida Khan, secretary library Fawad Afzal and others.

According to a press release, the council showed serious concern over the price hike stating that it had made lives of citizens of Pakistan miserable.

The participants stated that unemployment, below average income, load shedding and poor governance had compelled general public to commit suicide.

They also demanded withdrawal of special privileges in the shape of free electricity, petrol, gas and other perks to the high officials of the government, public functionaries, etc, stating that billions of rupees could be saved through such measures which could be utilised for improving the living standard of the general public.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2023