RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Employees of the Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan (USC) continued their protest on Wednesday against the shutting down of Utility Stores by the federal government across the country.

Organised under the Joint Action Committee of USC, hundreds of workers staged a sit-in outside the USC headquarters in Islamabad, demanding an immediate reversal of the closure decision.

Protesters chanted slogans against the government and vowed to continue their demonstration until their demands are met.

The demonstrators warned that closing down Utility Stores would worsen inflation and push thousands of workers into unemployment. “Shutting down Utility Stores would be like handing over 260 million citizens to the mafias of inflation,” one protester said. They also alleged that the government’s move violates national labour and privatisation laws.

Due to the protest and heightened security measures, heavy traffic congestion was witnessed on roads leading to the Red Zone, particularly around the Parliament House, as authorities braced to avert possible movement of protesters towards the Red Zone.

Addressing the rally, senior Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Chaudhry Manzoor Hussain strongly criticised the government’s privatisation policy. He said they are not just selling off Utility Stores; they are selling institutions such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation Ltd (Passco) as well. “Tell me, is there any institution they do not want to sell?”

He reminded the crowd that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had established the USC to eliminate profiteering and provide affordable daily essentials to the public under one roof.

Manzoor rejected the government’s justification that Utility Stores are being shut down due to financial losses. He responded to official claims that Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) now fulfills the need: “BISP does not support those earning Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 monthly. Where will they go?”

He also criticised the government’s failure to implement its own minimum wage policy, claiming that the motive behind the closures is not reform but corruption and profiteering. “They want to loot the system, and we will not let them do it,” he added.

Addressing public concerns over PPP’s role in the federal government, Manzoor clarified: “We are not part of the government. Being part of the government means having the prime minister or your ministers in the cabinet. We only support the government’s good actions — we are not part of their corruption.”