Hundreds of supporters of a key Islamist party began a sit-in in the garrison city of Rawalpindi late on Friday after authorities detained dozens to prevent them from holding the rally in Pakistan’s neighbouring capital, citing security reasons, officials said.
The Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party originally issued a call for holding the sit-in near the parliament building in Islamabad to pressure the government to withdraw a substantial increase in electricity costs, which have drawn nationwide criticism. People complain they are getting electricity bills even higher than their salaries.
Naeem-ur-Rehman, who heads Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, told demonstrators in Rawalpindi that he was willing to stage the sit-in even for weeks. He said police arrested a large number of the party’s supporters to prevent them from staging the sit-in in Islamabad.
Source link : https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3272136/pakistan-islamist-party-begins-protests-against-increase-electricity-bills
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Publish date : 2024-07-27 04:49:31
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