KARACHI: Police launched a crackdown against Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi and arrested several activists from different areas when the party moved ahead with its planned sit-in at Shahrah-e-Faisal against K-Electric’s ‘excesses’.
Police dismantled the camp of JI at Nursery and arrested many of its workers. The protest was scheduled at 5:00 pm near Nursery, but police swing into action and started arresting activists and cordoned off its office.
The JI is protesting against what it calls nexus between KE, NEPRA and government.
It said that KE has inflicted misery on consumers by excessive billing, tariff hike, load-shedding and ban on issuance of separate meters in multi-storey buildings.
Before the start of the sit-in police dismantled the protest camp and heavy contingent of police cordoned off the city headquarters of the party, Idara Noor-e-Haq, and arrested workers from there.
Meanwhile, JI chief Senator Sirajul Haq strongly condemned the police crackdown on party workers.
Talking to AbbTakk News Haq said that the provincial and districts government should solve the problems of masses including load-shedding and excessive billing by KE.
He warned the administration of country-wide protest if party workers were not released. He added that JI was a peaceful and law abiding party and peaceful demonstration was their right.
Earlier, JI Karachi chief Engineer Naeem-ur-Rehman had said that the sit-in was staged after a long peaceful campaign against KE’s atrocities.
“During the campaign, JI approached NEPRA and the government officials as well as judiciary for resolution of chronic problems being faced by the people of Karachi,” Naeem said. “We also held public courts in all parts of the city at which a large number of people showed their helplessness in the face of illegal tactics of the power supply company, besides criminal silence of regulatory authority.”
He said that KE would have to pay back illegally charged Rs.200 billion to its customers. He also held NEPRA responsible for the miseries of Karachiities.
