LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said the party will resume its long march if Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif fails to provide relief on the petroleum levy during their meeting.
Addressing party workers in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said JI had not deviated from the strategy it had adopted so far.
He said the party had exposed issues related to electricity, independent power producers (IPPs) and what he described as mafias exploiting people. He added that whenever JI identified an issue, it also presented its own proposed solutions.
Talking about IPPs, Hafiz Naeem said ministers had previously claimed that the government could not negotiate with them. He said JI’s campaign against IPPs had resulted in relief for the public.
He claimed that after continued pressure from JI, the government itself announced that it had held talks with 57 IPPs and benefited by Rs4,500 billion.
Hafiz Naeem said no political party had raised its voice over the petroleum issue at the time, adding that a few months ago people were not aware of the petroleum levy.
He said JI had explained that the levy had no connection with the actual price of petrol and described it as a “jaga tax”.
He said protests and sit-ins were not easy, adding that JI’s sit-ins had succeeded because of public support.
“If we take the people into confidence, seats will come to us on their own,” he said.
Hafiz Naeem said JI had blocked roads, held sit-ins, rallies and strikes and also staged a long march, adding that the party had not withdrawn from its movement.
He announced that a large public gathering would be held in Lahore tomorrow, while rallies were continuing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Our workers are fully charged,” Hafiz Naeem said.
