KARACHI: Consumer Association of Pakistan (CAP) presented comprehensive Charter of Demand to government, outlining key measures to provide relief to consumers and improve their quality of life.

Kaukab Iqbal Chairman of Consumer Association of Pakistan, talking to media representatives at head office of CAP, presented 15-point charter of demand to government to provide relief to poverty-hit consumers.

CAP top officials including Sheikh Khalil senior Vice Chairman, Dr. Abdul Salam Dadabhoy senior Vice Chairman, Abdul Jabbar Rathore and others were present.  “Government must take immediate action to address suffering of consumers,” said Kaukab Iqbal. He said, “We demand concrete steps to reduce prices, promote competition and ensure availability of essential items.” CAP Charter of Demand includes 15 key points, covering electricity sector reform, promotion of renewable energy, fiscal reforms, taxation reforms, price controls, electricity load shedding, electricity supply competition, electricity pricing, price stability, Sales Tax reforms and luxury goods imports. “Government has responsibility to protect rights of consumers and ensure their welfare, said Iqbal and added that we urge government to consider our demands and take prompt action to address challenges facing country.” Brief overview of CAP’s Charter of Demand includes payment to IPPS based on electricity production to avoid burdening consumers with excess costs, revise agreements with IPPS to ensure full production, enabling uninterrupted power supply during peak summer months, immediately reduce electricity prices to Rs 25 per unit to provide relief to consumers, direct State Bank to provide interest-free loans for purchase of solar panels in easy installments, withdraw privileges granted to officers and staff in all sectors, reducing burden on national treasury, cut down privileges and lavish expenses of government officials, including President’s House, Prime Minister’s House, Provincial Houses and Governor’s Houses, by at least 25 percent. 

In addition to this, increase taxes on elite instead of imposing additional burdens on salaried class and poor, completely abolish taxes on essential items and dairy products from budget 2024, fix pulse prices at Rs 80-100 to ensure affordability for consumers, take measures to prevent price increases for flour, rice and other essential commodities, unannounced power outages should be stopped once for all, abolish monopoly on electricity supply in Karachi and allow at least 5 electricity supply companies to operate, promoting competition and consumer choice, fix slab rates for electricity, making them accessible to consumers, fix prices for electricity and petrol for period of six months, maintaining them at minimum reasonable level, bringing sales tax rates at 5-10 percent on all essential items and ban imports of all luxury cars.