Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced a nationwide protest on January 31 on the issue of independent power producers (IPPS).

During a press conference in Karachi, Ji Chief Hafiz Naeem-Ur-Rehman said that protests would be held at the same time throughout the country on January 31. He questioned why the public had not received any relief if the IPPs benefit from the agreements.

He added that the government claimed the negotiations had ended with 17 IPPs, but Jamaat-e-Islami has been people’s voice to tackle their concerns. The party also rejected the increase in legislators’ salary.

By confirming the party’s position, he pointed out that parliamentary wages had been raised by 140%, while Jamaat-e-Islami continues to work for the Palestinian case.

He emphasized that Pakistan must take a proactive role in the restoration of Gaza.

Hafiz Naeem-Ur-Rehman also noted that the government must act quickly in the current geopolitical situation and exert pressure on Arab countries and others to refrain from recognizing Israel.

Earlier on January 14, the federal cabinet gave Go-Ahead to revise the agreements with 14 independent power producers (IPPs) and approved the merger of the Aviation Department with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Defense with the Ministry of the Interior as part of the government’s savings drive.

The cabinet met here with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair. By tackling the meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz paid tribute to the process of renegotiations on the power purchase agreements with IPPS and said it would result in great savings in national tax.

The cabinet approved the Power Division’s recommendation to revise the negotiated agreements – with 14 IPPs aimed at reducing electricity costs and saving on RS1.4 trillion for national tax.

After discussion with the 14 IPPs, under the negotiated settlement agreements, the cabinet approved the recommendation to reduce RS802 billion with regard to profits and costs for these IPPs. An amount of RS35 billion in excess profits from previous years would also be deducted from these IPPs.