Nationwide Shutter-Down Strike Against Electricity Bill Hikes and Taxes
On the call of Jamaat-e-Islami and trader organizations, business centers in various cities, including Karachi, are closed. Due to the strike, some schools in certain areas have also been shut down. In Islamabad, roads leading to the Red Zone have been blocked with containers due to fears of protests. Traders in various business centers of Islamabad, including Aabpara Market and G-9 Karachi Company, are observing a shutter-down strike, with shops closed in many areas.
The All Pakistan Traders Association Sindh has announced full support for today’s shutter-down strike, stating that all small and large businesses in Sindh’s cities will remain closed. They reject the increase in taxes and electricity bills. In Peshawar, traders have also kept various markets closed.
In Rawalpindi, traders are striking against high electricity bills and taxes. Major commercial centers, shopping malls, markets, wholesale markets, and grain markets are closed, although bakeries, sweet shops, grocery stores, medical stores, and petrol pumps remain open. All major grocery shops in large commercial centers are completely closed. Educational institutions and the district court are open in the city. A heavy police presence has been deployed in various areas.
The strike is also being observed in Multan, Lahore, Quetta, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Harnai, Malakand Division, interior Sindh, and other large and small cities across the country.
