JI sets September 20 for Islamabad march

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced that his party will hold a long march towards Islamabad on September 20 against the petroleum levy and what he described as the country’s dual system.

Addressing a women’s gathering at Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad, Hafiz Naeem said the JI was continuing its campaign against the petroleum levy and would take its protest to the federal capital later this month.

He said the country was currently witnessing a system in which ordinary citizens were struggling with rising expenses while government authorities continued to spend heavily on non-essential matters.

Criticising the Punjab government, the JI chief alleged that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had purchased an aircraft worth Rs11 billion at a time when people were facing severe inflation. He questioned why the government was not prepared to reduce its own expenditures despite the economic difficulties confronting the public.

Hafiz Naeem also highlighted the challenges faced by workers, claiming that around 80 million labourers and daily-wage earners were struggling to secure their basic rights. He said approximately 84 per cent of them did not have access to fundamental rights.

Turning his criticism towards the education sector, the JI emir alleged that around 11,000 schools had been sold in Punjab under the provincial government. He further claimed that 52 per cent of ninth-grade students in the province had failed, describing the situation as a serious concern for the education system.

He stressed that providing equal access to quality education was a fundamental responsibility of the state and said children across the country should be given equal opportunities to study and progress.

Hafiz Naeem said the JI was currently holding sit-ins at 35 locations across the country as part of its campaign. He reiterated that party workers and supporters would take to the streets on September 20 and march towards Islamabad.