The Jamaat-i-Islami launched its protest march towards Islamabad on Sunday, with party Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warning that if the government failed to abolish the petroleum levy, the JI’s protest could turn into one to oust the government.
Naeem was addressing JI supporters at Karachi’s Cantonment Station before departing for Islamabad.
“In line with our strategy, people from across the country have departed for Islamabad,” he said, adding that a road caravan had also departed for the federal capital in addition to the “train march”.
He said the rally would pass through Hyderabad, Landhi, Nawabshah, Rohri and Sukkur, adding that “we will invite our sisters to join us once we reach [Islamabad]”.
Rehman said the purpose of the march was to help relieve the burden on the least privileged.
“Instead of providing relief to the people, the government has decided that it would make the nation pay for its bad governance,” he added. “We demand that the levy extortion should end. Petrol prices would then reduce quickly and reach around Rs200 per litre. That’s when the economy could move forward.”
He said that the government had increased petrol prices more than any other state in the region. “The government wants to rob the common people in times of crisis,” Naeem claimed.
The JI emir said voicing complaints on social media was pointless, urging supporters to step out of their houses to protest the injustice.
“For the past 36-37 days, nationwide protests have been ongoing,” he said, adding that protests were currently under way in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpur Khas, Larkana, Naushahro Feroze, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and various cities of KP.
“JI has mobilised entire Pakistan,” he said. “No hindrances can stop the protesters.”
“When we reach Islamabad, it’s not guaranteed that the situation would remain under control,” Rehman warned. If the government tried to suppress the movement, the situation would get out of control, he said.
The party posted on X that the “train march”, led by Rehman from Karachi, would reach Rohri, Sukkur to hold a rally at 8pm. The protesters would depart for Multan on Monday.
The JI has been holding nationwide protests against the fuel levy, which is more than Rs100 per litre.
JI chief vows to stand with people
As the JI’s convoy reached Hyderabad, the JI chief addressed party workers gathered at the Hyderabad Railway Station.
He said the enthusiasm expressed by people at the station showed that JI’s movement against price hikes and recovery of petroleum levy had resonated with the public
He urged people to reach Islamabad and claimed that neither he nor the JI have any personal interest; rather, the matter concerned the people of Pakistan.
Rehman said the march had turned into a huge revolutionary one. He said that people had been mobilised across Pakistan towards Islamabad, demanding the levy be withdrawn.
On JI’s talks with the government, he said that while the party held negotiations, the federal government had nothing to offer to the people.
“If you are under some compulsion and can’t do anything, then JI is under compulsion that it has to stand with people,” he said, adding that the party’s talks with the government were conditional upon whether the latter offered any relief.
On Saturday, a government delegation, including PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal, and Salman Rafique, called on the JI leadership at its Mansoorah headquarters in Lahore, but the meeting failed to break the deadlock.
During the talks, the government delegation asked the JI to postpone the long march in view of security threats. However, JI leader Liaquat Baloch said the long march would remain necessary until the levy imposed on the public was withdrawn.
Talks between the JI and the government began on Sept 7. The party has been staging regular sit-ins in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and dozens of other locations across the country since August 16 to protest the levy.
Meanwhile, PTI is also scheduled to stage its protest in the capital on Sept 27 for the release of Imran Khan, among other demands.
It also turned down the government’s request to postpone the march, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said a day earlier.
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