Owing to the rising cost of living and exorbitant electricity bills amid sky-rocketing inflation, the public including traders observed a nationwide shutter-down strike on Saturday with many taking to the streets.
The recent hike in power bills has angered the country’s already-burdened consumers, as well as traders, who have been surviving by a thread due to the ongoing back-breaking inflation in the country.
The public and traders joined the Jamaat-e-Islami supporting its call for a shutter-down strike during which small and large commercial shops and businesses were closed in cities including Karachi, Peshawar, Sargodha and Sheikhupura, among others.
The Punjab Bar Council also announced a strike against inflation with lawyers also absent from courts.
In Karachi, citizens protested against inflation in Shah Latif Town, blocking the flow of traffic on the National Highway.
Traders split into two factions on JI’s call for a shutterdown strike in Sargodha. President Anjuman-e-Tajiran Sheikh Nadeem Khawar said he would participate in the shutter-down strike but would not hold a rally, while its general secretary spoke against the strike at the request of a political party. He assured to support the strike if announced by Anjuman-e-Tajiran.
The lawyers of the district bar in Faisalabad announced a strike, too, with protests in the city recorded by citizens at Canal Road and Dijkot demanding abolishing taxes by burning tyres and blocking the road for traffic.
Transgenders in Rawalpindi surrounded the Islamabad Electric Supply Company office,
holding banners and placards, and demanding the government to immediately roll back the hike in petrol and electricity prices.
In Mandi Bahauddin, traders observed a shutter-down strike against an increase in electricity bills, and all small and major markets as well as commercial centers in the city remained closed.
The All Pakistan Traders Community did a strike in Peshawar with most markets and centers shut. Food outlets and medical stores, however, remained open in the city.
Traders in Arifwala announced a shutter-down with trade organisations supporting and announcing to keep shops and businesses closed across the city.
In Chichawatni, the strike was supported by lawyers due to which people showing up to attend hearings remained affected too. Shops were also closed in Kasowal, Iqbal Nagar and Ghaziabad.
