Skyrocketing power bills draw protests near Pakistan's capital
Protests over skyrocketing power bills have shut down a major road into Pakistan’s capital as some 3,000 supporters of a major Islamist party continue a sit-in despite pouring monsoon rains
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Protests over skyrocketing power bills shut down a major road into Pakistan's capital on Monday as some 3,000 supporters of a major Islamist party continued a sit-in despite pouring monsoon rains.
In Pakistan’s southwest, meanwhile, thousands protested against police violence, an internet shutdown and highway closures. At least one person was reportedly killed.
Protesters demanding that the government withdraw taxes on electricity to offset price hikes have occupied a road in the garrison city of Rawalpindi since Friday, as police prevented them from heading to the capital Islamabad.
Hoisting the white, blue, and green flags of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, the protesters chanted: “This cruel increase in electricity bills is not acceptable."
