Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) will continue the ongoing anti-inflation sit-in in Rawalpindi, the party’s Naib Emir Liaqat Baloch announced on Sunday after holding the first round of talks with the government.
A three-member delegation including Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Amir Muqam, and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry met the JI negotiation committee at the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office amid mounting pressure on the government as the Rawalpindi sit-in entered its third day.
On Saturday, JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned of expanding the sit-in against skyrocketing electricity bills and high taxes to other parts of the country if the government failed to meet his party’s demands.
Speaking to the media after the negotiations today, Baloch said that the first round of talks was held in a “pleasant environment”.
“We laid out our demands before the government, and they will set up a technical team tomorrow (Monday) to look into them,” Baloch said.
He added that JI had conveyed its agenda to the government, clearly stating that the sit-in protest was completely apolitical and aimed solely at demanding relief for the masses tormented by the scourge of runaway inflation.
The politico said that there might be more rounds of talks; however, the protest sit-in would continue till their demands are accepted.
“Electricity and petrol prices have become unbearable for the nation, whereas, the government has not signed any international agreement with the independent power producers (IPPs),” he said.
The party naib emir said that the JI would not let anyone sacrifice the nation to protect the capitalists’ interests. “The masses will get relief if the government takes their miseries seriously,” he added.
Baloch also told the media that they had handed over a list of 35 persons, who were arrested during the ongoing protest, to the government. He, however, added that said most of the arrested JI workers had been released.
Meanwhile, federal minister Tarar confirmed that the government has ordered the immediate release of 35 JI workers whose names were given to them by the party leadership.
He said that the religio-political party presented 10 demands regarding power, agriculture and taxes.
The federal government was making all-out efforts to reduce its expenditures and provide relief to the nation via privatisation and economic reforms, he added.
Tarar said that the federal minister for water and power had been added to the technical team, comprising the Power Division secretary and representatives of the finance ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), to review the JI’s demands.
The minister added that the Naeem-led party tabled most of its demands related to electricity issues. He vowed that these issues would be resolved at the earliest.
He also said that the government wanted to shift the sit-in inside the Liaquat Bagh.
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