(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Wednesday's rallies were inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement which erupted in New York in mid-September to protest social and economic inequalities and corporate greed in the US.
“Under capitalism people can't live a dignified life, they can't even meet their basic needs. I think in this system people are not able to get jobs, they are not able to make ends meet,” said a protester.
Protesters also marched towards the World Bank office in Islamabad and chanted slogans against the international financial institutions.
Demonstrators also denounced the privatization of government companies, saying capitalists wanted to take total control of all the public money.
“Our serious problem is the policies of new liberalists and capitalists, for example the privatization of the telecommunication company has been a total disaster, restructuring of railway company has been a disaster and the big dams we built with World Bank money has also been a disaster environmentally, socially and economically,” said a protester.
Severe economic challenges including energy shortages and rising inflation, deterioration of public services like health and education and an unusual increase in the cost of basic amenities, are among the main causes of people's dissatisfaction in Pakistan.
Rallies against capitalism have already swept across cities in around 80 countries across the world.
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