Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : President of All Pakistan Association of Traders and Traders Action Committee Ajmal Baloch has announced that if the cruel increase in electricity bills is not withdrawn, protest demolishment stations will be held across Pakistan including Islamabad/Rawalpindi on August 29. If the demands are not accepted, there will be a shutter down strike across the country on Thursday, August 31.
He was accompanied in the press conference by the President of All Traders Punjab Malik Shahid Ghafoor Pracha , President of Rawalpindi Chamber of Small Traders Tariq Jadoon ,Information Secretary Khalid Chaudhry, Akhlaq Abbasi, G XI Center President Naeem Akhtar Awan , Supermarket General Secretary Saqib Abbasi, President of G Ten Four Zafar Iqbal Gujjar, General Secretary Usman Khan, PWD Market President Malik Naeem Iqbal, General Secretary of G-Ten Centre Zahir Abbasi, President of E-11 Center, Bhara Kahu Central President Raja Zahid Danial, Steel Market President Irfan Chaudhry, Nanbai Association President Sajjad Abbasi and representatives of almost all markets were present.
Ajmal Baloch further said that the government needs to reduce its expenses. The caretaker set-up consists of people of status, stop using government vehicles and use private vehicles. The government has indicated to withdraw the free electricity facility of WAPDA officers which is only 5% of the total. He added that so many taxes have been imposed in the electricity bills that we do not even know that the total tax amount has also been taxed. Most traders are taxpayers. This is the reason that common people do not come in the tax net.
He demanded that the government immediately revert to atrocious electricity bills and if the situation worsened, the government will be responsible.
The IPPs are paid in dollars, if the dollar will be expensive, the electricity will also be expensive, so the government should revise the agreement. Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, should take notice of the fact that at present the businessmen, who are the backbone of the economy, have been broken, he said.