Rawalpindi: Pakistan's right-wing party Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman issued a stern warning to the government on Saturday, threatening to expand their ongoing sit-in protest in Rawalpindi to other areas of the country if demands regarding increased electricity bills and taxes are not met, as reported by Dawn.
According to reports, the sit-in, which is currently taking place at Liaquat Bagh, could see further escalation if the government does not respond to the demands.
The news report quoted Rehman saying, "If the government is thinking that the sit-in would continue on Murree Road only, it is wishful thinking. If they do not reduce electricity bills in a genuine manner, do not address the matter of IPPs (independent power producers), and do not revoke the [tax] slab on the salaried class, then this sit-in would not remain limited to here; it would spread further to the entire country."
Rehman criticized the government's handling of the economic situation, noting that even industrialists are struggling to pay their electricity bills. "I met traders and industrialists here in the past week and they lamented, 'we are at our limits and cannot run our factories anymore,'" Rehman said, as reported by Dawn. He highlighted the broader economic impact, pointing out that the closure of a single factory results in thousands of people losing their jobs.
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