KARACHI: Several members of Jamaat-e-Islam Paksitan organized a protest in Karachi on Thursday, expressing concern over high inflation and unfair taxes imposed by the government.
These protesters said soaring inflation and high taxes were severely impacting their families’ survival. Additionally, they also shared the financial hardships they are facing. They claim that government policies are causing untold suffering. They also criticized the government for imposing heavy taxes on essential goods and services, exacerbating the financial hardship faced by the people.
Elaborating on the issue, a female protester said, “Karachi’s only tragedy is heavy taxes and expensive electricity. We are now fed up with these baseless taxes and soaring inflation and are taking to the streets. However, bills that used to be just a few hundred rupees are now in the thousands of rupees. It’s the government’s fault, but it’s also because of inflation and taxes. I’ve heard that some people commit suicide because of poverty. People who lack children can’t get an education and have enough to put on the table. People are now able to pay for their children’s education, feed their families, or pay their bills.
Another protester said: “My only appeal to the government is that if they can’t control inflation, they should raise salaries and incomes for our fathers, brothers and sons, create more jobs.” Because if a person earns 30,000 rupees a month. And when you get a bill of 25,000 rupees, where will you pay it? You have three hungry children at home and no petrol to cook meals. Even though there is no electricity, the price does not go down. They are killing the people with inflation. They have no right to rule. They plundered our country and sold it. We demand that inflation be reduced in the bill and that the unfair taxes included in our bill be reduced. ”
Pakistan had reportedly signed a US$7 billion IMF loan deal last month that included tough measures such as increasing taxes on electricity bills. This has raised concerns among poor and middle-class Pakistanis who are grappling with the threat of further inflation and tax hikes. Currently, Pakistan is once again facing multifaceted problems. On the other hand, the country is suffering from a severe economic crisis and all international financial institutions have set conditions for tax increases, which is once again creating a survival problem for the Pakistani people.
