KARACHI       -      Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday warned to widen their protest against the K-Electric, if families of those who were electrocuted during rain were not served justice.

Addressing a protest demonstration held outside the KE head office, Hafiz Naeem once again demanded that the bereaved families should be compensated as well as the murder FIR be lodged against KE head and other officials for their ‘criminal negligence’.

“We are going to hold demonstration at different 50 places of the city on Tuesday and would go to Chief Minister and Governor House after Eid-ul-Azha, if our demands are not met,” he added.

The JI leader added that the representatives of federal, provincial and city governments who were backing the KE should also be exposed. A mother of Umar Farooq, who was electrocuted in Malir on Tuesday, demanded of the authorities to serve her justice. “I had a baby after nine years but now he is not with us and there is no one to whom we can rely in old age,” she lamented. Umar, 9, was a student of class three and memorising the Holy Quran also.

Separately, the participants of the demonstration also adopted a resolution, demanding Rs 50 million for each bereaved family and registration of FIR against the KE officials.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Human Rights Commission took a strong notice of the reports of death by electrocution of more than 20 people in Karachi, following two-day spell of rains in the city.

The SHRC Justice (r) Majida Rizvi Chairperson, in a press statement issued by the Commission, described it as a serious human rights violation and called for action to be taken against the negligence of KE ‘whose wiring and system installation endangered people’s lives to the point that a brief spell of rain exposed them to life threatening risk’.

She said that there have been reports of deaths all over Sindh as a result of rain related incidents. However, while electrocution has resulted in loss of lives of several people, urban flooding has also caused much distress to the population. “These point to poor planning as well as a culture of flouting of safety rules by electricity companies which ends up gravely compromising people’s security and lives.” she added

Majida said it was unacceptable that in this day and age, people still have to fear for their lives in times of rains because of poor planning by the authorities and corporate negligence and unaccountability.

The SHRC chief stressed that though the government was suggesting that it would be taking action against the power utility and others whose negligence resulted in the loss of precious lives, the Commission, being an independent human rights body, too can initiate inquiry into the case.

The deaths were reported from Quaidabad, Landhi, North Nazimabad Block L, Surjani Town’s Yousuf Goth, Ajmer Nagri and others in North Karachi, Kharadar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir City and Kala Pul residencies of the city.