Pakistan: Jamaat-e-Islami announces 'resistance movement' against prolonged load-shedding, budget

Lahore [Pakistan], June 26 : Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced a 'resistance movement' with protests across the nation against the prolonged load shedding and the recently announced budget, which it termed not 'people-friendly', Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore's Mansoorah, amir Jamaat-e-Islami, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that the party has planned a national agenda aimed at peaceful resistance protests.
He said that JI supports freedom of expression and stated that their alliance is with 250 million people of Pakistan, ARY News reported.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman stating that the movement will entirely focus on issues related to the public, announced a protest outside the offices of electricity distribution companies on June 28 and urged the government to hold dialogue.
He slammed the operation 'Azm Istehkam Pakistan' and said that JI is not in favour of this operation as it only causes a gap between people and institutions, according to ARY News report.
He said, "The war on terror that started in 2001 has cost Pakistan a lot, including an economic loss exceeding USD 200 billion, how long will we fight this 'blind war'? Everyone must has to sit together as this is most important issue right now."
On June 22, Pakistan's federal government approved a reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign, 'Operation Azm-i-Istehkam' aimed to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country, Dawn reported.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman called for meaningful negotiations with Afghanistan to ensure that their land is not being used for terrorist activities and emphasised that tribes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan have suffered enough.
Speaking about the political parties in Pakistan, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman expressed skepticism about the future of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), predicting a decline for PML-N.
On June 22, residents, enraged over prolonged load-shedding, stormed the power distributor's customer care center on Abul Hassan Isphani Road in Pakistan's Karachi, forcing the employees to flee from the spot, ARY News reported.
The protest turned violent as protesters shouted slogans against the power distributor K-Electric, and pelted stones at the customer care center, shattering windows.
Angry residents took to the streets due to the worsening power crisis in Karachi, with people calling for an end to frequent load-shedding. The protesters blocked both sides of the road, resulting in a massive traffic jam. After the protest, the K-Electric employees fled from the office, leaving the protesters to express their anger, the report said.
On Friday, people held protests in various city areas over the non-availability of electricity and water. Protesters held a sit-in at North Karachi Power House Chowrangi and Gulzar-e-Hijri Scheme 33, blocking traffic and setting tyres on fire.
A large number of residents of the area near North Karachi held a protest against the load shedding of electricity, which resulted in traffic jams on both sides of the road in Nagan Chowrangi and Surjani Town, ARY News reported. The protesters called for an end to load shedding and cable faults and shouted slogans against K Electric.