Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif telephoned Jamaat-e-Islami emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday right as the party’s train march against the petroleum levy arrived in Multan. He requested the party to delay its planned protest in Islamabad until he returns to Pakistan. The premier also expressed readiness for meaningful discussions on the petroleum levy once he is back home.
According to a JI spokesperson, the call came just after the emir reached Multan leading the long march toward the capital. Hafiz Naeem told the prime minister that his party seeks neither confrontation nor any law and order issue with the government. At the same time he made clear that JI took to the streets to voice public concerns and expects the government to respect the right to protest.
The emir said the party would first consult its central Shura before deciding on the request to postpone the march. He added that even if the march is delayed at the government’s appeal, JI will not surrender its right to raise the people’s issues.
The train march had reached Multan late Monday night. Addressing supporters at the railway station, Hafiz Naeem noted that the train faced a four-hour delay yet crowds still turned out in large numbers to welcome the caravan. He said people were also coming out in parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The march will now pass through southern Punjab before entering central Punjab on its way to Lahore and finally Islamabad.
He again demanded that the government withdraw what JI calls an unfair tax on petroleum products and give genuine relief to ordinary citizens. “If you provide relief to the people, we have no issue of ego,” the emir stated. He stressed that the protest is driven by the hardships faced by poor and middle-class families, pointing to high prices of wheat, flour and sugar. He also criticised the influence of flour and sugar mafias and inconsistent government policies on sugar trade.
JI launched the long march from Karachi on Sunday. After Multan the caravan is scheduled to continue toward Lahore before the final push to the federal capital. The party has already held protests in several cities and held earlier rounds of talks with the federal government on the same demands.
