Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman to defer the party’s long march towards Islamabad against the petroleum levy until his return to Pakistan, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.
PM Shehbaz Sharif made the request during a telephone call with Hafiz Naeem after the JI’s train march reached Multan.
The prime minister also maintained that he was ready to hold meaningful talks with the JI on the petroleum levy after returning to Pakistan.
Hafiz Naeem told the prime minister that the party did not seek any law and order problem or confrontation with the government. He, however, said the JI had taken to the streets to raise public concerns and the government would have to respect its right to protest.
Hafiz Naeem said the party would consult its Shura, the party's central decision-making council, before responding to the prime minister’s request to postpone the long march. He said even if the march was postponed at the government’s request, the party would not give up its right to protest.
The JI’s train march against the petroleum levy rolled into Multan late Monday night, with Hafiz Naeem addressing supporters at the railway station.
The JI emir said the train had been delayed for four hours but the delay had not stopped supporters from turning out to welcome the march. “Those who conspired should see how many people came out to welcome us in Multan,” he said.
He reiterated the JI’s demand that the government withdraw what the party describes as "extortion levy" on petroleum products provide relief to the public. “If you provide relief to the people, we have no issue of ego,” Hafiz Naeem said.
The JI emir said the party was raising the concerns of poor and middle-class people, arguing that political parties were not adequately addressing issues affecting ordinary citizens.
He cited the prices of wheat, flour and sugar as examples of the economic pressures facing consumers.
Reporter Shoaib Mukhtar