Pakistan: MQM-P leader warns protests over inflated power bills could turn into riots

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 28 (ANI): Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has warned that protests against inflated power bills could turn into riots. He said that his party would join people on the streets if relief was not given to people, Pakistan-based Dawn reported.
Speaking at a press conference in Bahadurabad on Sunday, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that it was time to review the national power supply policy, which he stressed was in favour of certain classes and exploited the poor.
"We are concerned that this anger over inflated power bills can turn into a riot. This is a major crisis and it is time to take drastic measures," he said, according to Dawn report. 
He further said, "Otherwise we will be left with no option but to take to the streets and support people’s demands."
Siddiqui termed power bills a "burden on consumers" and stressed that people were becoming "rebels" and Pakistan was heading towards civil disobedience. He said that the power sector's circular debt was due to the incompetence and failure of successive governments, Dawn reported. 
At the same press conference, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar said that a "state within a state" would be created if the protests continued.
On Friday, people took to the streets in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Toba Tek Singh and other areas against power bills, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
In Karachi, the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan and the city’s trader community criticized the government for paying no attention to the plight of the ordinary people.
A large number of people held a protest at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh against the increased electricity bills, ARY News reported. People in Attock closed the main highway, disrupting traffic between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions.
MQM-P leaders also backed the demand for fresh delimitation before the general polls.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said, "The general elections should be held following a fresh delimitation of constituencies in line with the results of the 2023 census."
He said, "We want to reiterate that we want fair and transparent elections as soon as possible." Siddiqui said that it is not a "bad deal" if there is a delay of a few weeks or months in holding fair elections.
Siddiqui said that fake representatives were imposed on the city in elections conducted in 2018. He stressed that no one should be deprived of their right to representation. (ANI)