Hafiz Naeem says JI protests will continue until demands are accepted

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has warned that the party will stage sit-ins on the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad if it is not grantedJamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has warned that the party will stage sit-ins on the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad if it is not granted permission to hold a rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi today. permission to hold a rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi today.

Lahore: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has warned that the party will stage sit-ins on the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad if it is not granted permission to hold a rally at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi today.

Speaking at a press conference at Lahore’s Charing Cross, Hafiz Naeem said the Punjab government appeared to be uncomfortable with JI’s protest and had therefore locked the gates of Liaquat Bagh.

He said he was travelling to Rawalpindi, where he would meet traders and attend the planned rally at Liaquat Bagh. According to him, the administration had locked the park while JI workers were ready to break the locks and enter the venue, but they had been stopped from doing so.

Hafiz Naeem insisted that JI’s sit-ins were peaceful and said the protesters did not engage in violence, set fires or damage public property. He challenged the government to use force if it believed the protests could be ended through such measures, saying the party had witnessed similar tactics before.

The JI chief said the government appeared to believe that prolonging the protests would exhaust party workers and force them to return home. He rejected the assumption saying sit-ins were continuing in Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar and were gradually turning into a wider public movement.

Regarding negotiations Hafiz Naeem said the government had initially contacted the party for talks, while JI had never refused negotiations. He added that the party was not in a hurry to negotiate and that the government should come forward if it genuinely wanted to resolve public issues.

Criticizing the Benazir Income Support Programme, Hafiz Naeem alleged that corruption existed within the scheme and argued that repeatedly providing cash payments would not solve people’s problems. He called for greater investment in education and skills instead.

He reiterated that JI would continue its protests until its demands were accepted.