Pakistani traders pulled their shutters down while protesters blocked roads and staged rallies across Pakistan on Saturday (September 2) against the massive increase in power tariffs and soaring cost of living.
Tens of thousands took to the streets in dozens of major cities and remote towns, blocked roads, burned electricity bills, and staged sit-ins outside the power government offices.
The strike, called by former senator and the head of religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq, was largely endorsed by trade and business bodies, market associations, lawyers associations and transporters.
Last month, the national average tariff was raised by around Rs5 per unit, taking the base unit power tariff from Rs24.82 to Rs29.78. On August 22, the government once again sought to raise the power rate by Rs3.55 per unit.
Countrywide protests
Angry mobs in Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Peshawar blocked the main roads and highways for several hours to protest the recent power tariff hike.
Shops, markets, and business centers remained shut and traders refused to pay the electricity bills until the recent hike was reversed.
PM’s reaction
As Pakistan observed shutter-down strike on Saturday and witnessed the public outrage on roads, the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar called it a “non-issue”, insisting that it was being raised by some political parties as a “tool” in their election campaigns.
“It is not a very serious issue, but political parties are in election mode and using it as a social cause,” the interim prime minister told senior journalists and news anchors on September 1, according to Dawn newspaper.
Inflation hits double digit
Pakistan’s headline inflation persisted at 27.4% in August 2022, according to official data, amid massive depreciation of Pakistani rupee and soaring bills blamed on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package.
Pakistan was on the brink of default this summer, before theIMF agreed to a lifeline deal on condition that the government cut subsidies, leading to soaring living costs.
