By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistanis nationwide continued protesting against the inflated electricity bills as authorities sent bills with a massive increase in tariffs and taxes. 

Massive protest rallies held in different parts of the country condemned the massive increase in tariffs and taxes and put a huge economic burden on common citizens who have already facing massive price hikes for the last one and half years. 

Angry protesters burned their bills and chanted slogans against the government during protest rallies across the country.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq has assured the nation that his interim government would take concrete measures to provide relief to the masses and ordered the concerned authorities to submit the proposal for immediate action. 

Pakistan's major religious political party Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Sirajul Haq also announced to hold countrywide protest demonstrations from Sept 2 against the inflated power bills.

Haq criticized the caretaker Prime Minister for increasing Rs 20 per liter in petroleum prices soon after he took the oath and paving the way for further inflation in the country. 

 “We will go on strike across the country to withdraw the harsh decisions. The situation has gone from bad to the worst as we are seeking loans from country to country,” Dunya News quoted Haq as saying and added how people could bear to imposing 16 types of taxes on the electricity bills.

The country's economy is already in trouble following Pakistan's engulfed political crisis since the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence in April last year.

Later, the 13-party coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) further destroyed the country’s economy during their 16-month terms as no major success was seen to be achieved by PDM parties except for controversial legislation to abolish their corruption cases and target opposition leaders.