Karachi traders decide against paying electricity bills

Karachi: Traders have announced they will not pay the electricity bills for August and have demanded the government review the agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

According to sources, due to the high cost of electricity, capacity charges, the trader-friendly scheme, and taxes, traders in Karachi took to the streets.

Trader organizations protested at Bolton Market, with protesters chanting slogans to stop the economic killing of traders.

Trader leaders demanded that the government review the agreements with IPPs and announced they would not pay the electricity bills for August. Atiq Mir, a leader of the All Karachi Traders' Alliance, said that the electricity issue is a problem for the poor public, and receiving an electricity bill feels like getting a protection money slip.

The trader leaders stated that the people of Pakistan reject capacity charges, and this protest is just the beginning.

The protest will become a formidable barrier. They demanded that the government solve their problems and rejected the trader-friendly scheme initiated by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).