The nationwide protest has been launched against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government, over the continuous rise in prices of petroleum products and edibles, from Rawalpindi in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

According to Dawn, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) kicked off its 15-day nationwide protest against Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government on Wednesday. Political workers and activists of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamiat ulema-i-Islam- Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) led by Rawalpindi Mayor Sardar Naseem Khan and JUI-F leader Dr Ziaur Rehman gathered in front of Rawalpindi Press Club. Former minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Tahira Aurangzeb, Daniyal Chaudhry and Hanif Abbasi also joined the protest and staged a sit-in for an hour on Murree Road.

Dawn further reported that the protesters carried party flags, placards, banners, portraits of Nawaz Sharif and the opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif. They chanted slogans in favour of their leaders and against Prime Minister Imran Khan and Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. Most of the participants also chanted ‘Down with IMF’.

Speaking on the occasion on Wednesday, Aurangzeb said that the Imran Khan-led government snatched the bread from the mouths of people with increased prices. “The country is facing the worst time as the government failed to control the economics and security issues,” she said, adding inflation has forced people to commit suicide which is why the central leadership of PDM has played the role of saviour of the nation, reported the Pakistani publication.

She added that the poor have not been able to pay their house rent, utility bills or buy edibles, adding, due to the presence of the corrupt Pakistan government, the poor become poorer and rich become richer. She said that more than 60 per cent of people in the country lived below the poverty line.

Other PDM leaders said that the country cannot afford more thieves. Because of these thieves, they said, the purchasing power of the people has reduced so they will now have no other option but to take to the streets, reported Dawn.

In addition to the increasing prices of petroleum, the PTI government has also hiked electricity and gas tariffs in the country. This comes as prices of edible oil and ghee have gone up while prices of food items and high energy costs have caused concerns among people in Pakistan, Samaa TV reported.