Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced the postponement of the party’s much-anticipated Islamabad long march against the petroleum levy after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked him to delay the protest and offered talks on the issue.
He made the announcement in Multan on Tuesday after receiving a telephone call from the prime minister, who is currently in New York. The JI had planned to take its protest movement to Islamabad after launching a train march from Karachi on September 20.
According to Hafiz Naeem, Prime Minister Shehbaz asked him to postpone the march until his return to Pakistan and assured him that he would meet the JI leadership to discuss measures to provide relief to the public. The JI emir said he expected the meeting to take place soon after the prime minister’s arrival in the country.
The development came as the JI’s train march reached Multan after travelling from Karachi. Hafiz Naeem addressed supporters in the city before the movement was scheduled to proceed towards Lahore and ultimately Islamabad.
JI Supports PTI Long March:
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also spoke about the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and said the JI considered its founder and chairman Imran Khan a political prisoner. He condemned the crackdown on PTI workers and said every political party had a constitutional right to hold peaceful protests.
He also urged the government to consider a proposal by Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas for resolving the differences with the PTI.
“I think the government should consider his proposal and find out a way to hold talks with the PTI,” Hafiz Naeem said.
The JI had launched its latest phase of protests against the petroleum levy after several rounds of talks with the government failed to produce an agreement. The party’s train march began in Karachi on September 20 and reached Multan after receiving welcomes from supporters along the route.
The party has now linked the next phase of its protest to the outcome of the proposed meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz.
