Pakistan: JI to hold 'Haq Do Karachi Ko' rally protesting power tariffs

Karachi: Demanding resolution of power tariff issues in Karachi, Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami political party has announced to hold a historic "Haq Do Karachi Ko" march on Friday, local media reports said.

The march will be held at Shahra-e-Qaideen in Karachi at 4 PM. The announcement of the march was done by Head of Jamaat-e-Islami (Karachi) Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman. Women, children, elderly and young people will participate in the protest.

From July 24, Jamaat-e-Islami's Haq Do Karachi Ko movement will enter a new phase. The JI head said that they strongly condemn 6,000 monthly under sales tax in electricity bills by K-Electric. He added that they are with the business community and will announce the future course of action together with along with them very soon.

Earlier in March, Hafiz Naeem said that JI will hold a protest outside Chief Minister's house after Eid.
Jamaat-e-Islami, Karachi, Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman had said that the "Haq Do Karachi Ko" rally is a movement for legitimate and legal rights of the people of Karachi against rural and urban feudal lords.

He said that if the protestors had reached the Governor House, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) should not think that there they can not reach Chief Minister's house. We will protest at CM House after Eid, the JI chief had said, as per media reports.

He was addressing the grand "Haq Do Karachi Ko" rally, which began from Karachi's Quaidabad area to put pressure on the government to give the city its due rights.

The grand rally had started from Quaidabad and ended at the Governor House after passing through the Sharea Faisal, the key thoroughfare of the city. The people of Karachi and the JI workers had set up camps at various points on the route of the rally to welcome the participants of the event.

The demands of the JI's "Haq Do Karachi" rally from the rulers include giving Karachi its due rights, stopping the treatment of the city like an orphan city, giving employment to the local youth, holding local bodies elections, resolution of electricity issues, empowerment of city government, proper transport system, population census and construction of roads.

Meanwhile, the electricity supply in most areas of Karachi has been suspended for several hours following the heavy downpours that disrupted the day-to-day activities of the people. Defence Housing Authority (DHA)'s Khayaban e Badban has been without electricity supply for the last 36 hours, and the Sindhi Muslim Cooperative Housing Society (SMCHS) Block B has been without power for the last 24 hours.

Rainwater has accumulated on the main roads and streets and has caused a disruption in the flow of traffic, Geo News reported.

The accumulated water has also caused several vehicles and motorcycles to break down on the streets. The report states that the rainwater has entered many houses in areas of Liaquatabad and Bihar Colony of Lyari, and has damaged the furniture along with several other household items.

The accumulation of water in front of Pakistan's National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) hospital has affected the emergency ambulance service making it difficult for them to travel back and forth.

The Clifton submarine underpass and the KPT underpass had to be closed due to flooding, the local media reported.
Meteorologist Jawad Memon has predicted that a new rain system might bring heavy downpours to Karachi within the next few hours. The analysts have said that the intermittent downpour might continue till tomorrow evening as clouds from the Arabian Sea are moving towards the city.

On Monday, Karachi received a heavy spell of rain in Korangi, Saddar, Nipa Chowrangi, People's Chowrangi, Superhighway, and other parts of the city. Parts of the city submerged after heavy rainfall.

The intermittent downpours claimed 62 lives, including 24 children and impacted hundreds of people in Balochistan, officials said.

Around 48 people were injured in various accidents in the province, while more than 670 houses collapsed.
Owing to the heavy rainfalls, three people were electrocuted including two in the Garden's Shoe Market area while another man died of electrocution in the Bilal Colony area of Korangi.

The accumulation of water also led to power outages in the South Asian Country as 500 feeders were shut due to the accumulation of water in those places and the metropolis was provided with electricity from 1,400 out of 1,900 power feeders.

Frequent load-shedding across the country has left the people suffering in sweltering high temperatures.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted widespread rains in Karachi and other parts of Sindh from July 14.

According to the PMD's advisory, a strong rain system will enter Pakistan from July 14, which is likely to gradually spread over central and upper Sindh, ARY News reported.

In a statement, Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfraz said that the strong rain system is currently present in Eastern India and will enter Pakistan on July 14 from Rajasthan. Karachi would receive widespread rain till July 18 or 19, the PMD chief said. (ANI)