No Tactics Can Stop Islamabad March: Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman

ISLAMABAD, Sept 13: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said caravans from across the country will reach Islamabad on September 20 and warned the government against using any tactics to stop the planned long march.

He said the PTI, JUI , ANP and other opposition parties had extended their full support to JI’s protest against the petroleum levy.

“We consider PTI founder Imran Khan a political prisoner and demand that he be provided all necessary healthcare facilities,” Rehman said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.

JI Vice Emir Mian Muhammad Aslam, Deputy Secretary Syed Firasat Shah, Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present at the press conference.

The JI leader said the right to protest was a constitutional right of PTI and other political parties. He thanked opposition leaders, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, for supporting JI’s campaign against the petroleum levy.

Rehman announced that he would address public gatherings in Batkhela and Timergara later on Sunday. He said JI’s sit-ins were continuing in 36 cities and public participation was increasing with each passing day. He added that major programmes for women had already been held in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

He said the people had dubbed the petroleum levy a “bhatta tax” and demanded its complete abolition. According to him, the levy had no connection with the actual price of petrol and was being imposed as part of a “mafia system” to benefit a handful of people at the expense of the public.

The JI Emir also criticised an elite-driven economic system. He said the sugar mafia was creating an artificial shortage by exporting sugar and then importing it back. He also questioned the gap between the price at which wheat was purchased from farmers and the price at which it was later sold in the market.

He said the government should make agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) public, adding that people would then understand how the power sector had been structured against their interests. He said that consumers continued to pay capacity charges through their electricity bills regardless of the actual situation.

The JI chief said major political parties, including the PML-N, PPP and PTI, had failed to raise the people’s issues effectively because, in his view, the influence of vested interests extended across the political system.

He called for a forensic audit of clubs established for the elite across the country, questioning the ownership of their land and the taxes they paid. He said a particular class had gained control over national resources and continued to make decisions affecting the lives of ordinary people.

Rehman said JI had presented the government with practical proposals to reduce the burden on the public. He said that reducing the interest rate by three percentage points from the current 11.5 per cent could save the country Rs1,700 billion. He said the government was supporting the banking sector and asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif why interest rates were not being reduced.

He also questioned the proposed autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan, asking who made appointments at the institution. If the central bank became a “state within a state”, he said, it could become a security risk for Pakistan.

Rehman criticised the lifestyle of the ruling elite and asked why government officials could not use 1,300cc vehicles. “Are there thorns in a 1,300cc car?” he asked, while arguing that salaried people were heavily taxed while landlords were not subjected to a similar burden.

He said several components included in the ex-refinery price could be reduced and added that the government could continue negotiations if it wanted, but delaying the matter in the name of talks would not be accepted.

“Jamaat-e-Islami will not withdraw from its demands under any circumstances,” he said.

The JI leader warned that if the Islamabad march was blocked through undemocratic tactics, the government would face serious difficulties and would itself be responsible for any resulting situation.

“We will come to Islamabad. We have to get the petroleum levy abolished,” he said, adding that the government should avoid taking any “adventure” against the protesters.