Govt seeks 7 to 10 more days; march in mid-November, says Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said the government has asked for 7 to 10 more days. If the government does not accept the demands, the Jamaat-e-Islami march will be held in mid-November and will not be postponed now.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said talks are held with whoever is in government, whether it is a Form 47 or a Form 48 government. He said that when a hijacker hijacks a plane, one has to talk to him.

He said the long march to Islamabad will take place in mid-November. Preparations for the march will continue and mobilisation will begin across the country. “We will hold further talks with the government, but the march will be held in mid-November,” he said.

Demands from the government

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the government should announce a package before the march begins and put in place a system to end the levy before the march. He said the levy, which he called extortion, must go. Middle-class and poor people are bearing its burden. “We want people to get relief. The levy should also be removed, and there should be relief in the petrol price too,” he said.

The relief package is not giving the public much benefit. It has been agreed that relief on Petroleum Products is being increased. “We say the levy should be abolished. They say they will give relief in stages,” he said.

He said the government has asked for 7 to 10 more days. “If Jamaat-e-Islami had not protested, would the government have given this relief on petrol? They were going to raise the levy from Rs80 to Rs160. When we protested, they backed down.”

“Our pressure on the government is there and we will increase it further. We may have to sit on the road to hold talks.” He said every party talks about breaking the begging bowl of the IMF before coming to power.