QUETTA: Like other parts of the country, protest demonstrations and rallies were also held in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan on Sunday on the call of Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman against the massive increase in electricity rates and loadshedding.

JI workers and supporters marched on various roads and reached outside the Quetta Press Club. They chanted slogans against the government.

Speaking at the gathering, JI district leader Hafiz Noor Ali along with Abdul Majid Sarbazi, Arshad Khan and other leaders demanded an immediate reduction in loadshedding hours and power tariff. They urged the government to exempt Balochistan from electricity loadshedding.

They said the masses could not tolerate 18 to 22 hours of loadshedding when temperature surged to 52 degrees Celsius. They also said people were extremely distressed due to inflation, unemployment and other hardships. They demanded that at least farmers be provided solar system.

The JI leaders vowed to continue protesting at every platform against outages, inflation and ‘IMF-dictated’ budget.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2024