Jamaat-i-Islami postpones Islamabad march after PM Shehbaz appeal

Jamaat-i-Islami emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said in Multan on Tuesday that the party had postponed the next phase of its long march to Islamabad against the petroleum levy and would stay in Multan until a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Addressing a press conference, he said the prime minister had contacted him by telephone and asked that the march be postponed, while inviting the JI leadership for talks. According to Geo News, he said: "We will definitely meet the prime minister," adding that discussions would take place once PM Shehbaz returned to Pakistan. The JI caravan reached Multan on Monday night after the party began the march a day earlier.

Hafiz Naeem said the sit-in in Multan would continue and the party would not abandon its protest movement. "Whatever happens, we will continue our movement and the sit-ins will continue," he said. According to Dawn, he also said: "Our workers will remain on the ground." He described the government's relief measures as insufficient and reiterated the party's demand for a reduction in fuel prices and the abolition of the petroleum levy.

The JI chief said the party had presented several proposals to the government for lowering petrol prices, but officials maintained that the levy could not be reduced because of commitments under the International Monetary Fund programme. He said the party would seek written assurances before taking any decision on its future course of action. Hafiz Naeem said JI had held sit-ins at 510 locations across the country and staged a shutter-down strike as part of its campaign against rising fuel prices and inflation, and that several rounds of meetings had been held with federal ministers before the march.

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that PM Shehbaz spoke to Hafiz Naeem by telephone and asked him to postpone the sit-in in Islamabad. The prime minister said the government was providing relief on petroleum products to economically vulnerable and middle-income sections of society amid difficult circumstances and would continue making efforts to provide relief. According to the statement, Hafiz Naeem welcomed the suggestion and said JI was considering postponing the sit-in. The two leaders agreed to meet after the prime minister's return and continue consultations on the matter.