RAWALPINDI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced plans to march towards Murree Road on Thursday to protest against inflation, particularly the rising cost of electricity in the country.
The party, which has been staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi, recently concluded the fourth round of “confidential” talks with the government, but no concrete resolution has been reached regarding their demands.
Addressing a press conference at the Commissioner’s House on Wednesday, JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch stated that the sit-in aims to provide relief to the public. “We will proceed with our march on Murree Road starting at 6 PM on Thursday. We will inform the media if there is any progress in talks with the government,” he said, adding that the sit-in is organized, peaceful, and reflective of public demands.
Baloch mentioned that the JI has received feedback from the government committee on its six-point demands. JI workers have been staging the sit-in for around two weeks, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to revise tax rates, review agreements with independent power producers (IPPs), and reduce electricity and fuel prices to alleviate the burden on inflation-hit citizens.
Since the start of the protest, the government has held three rounds of talks with the JI delegation, led by senior leader Baloch. However, no significant breakthrough has been announced by either side.
Baloch added that the government representatives — including federal ministers Attaullah Tarar, Amir Muqam, Prime Minister’s Media Coordinator Badar Shahbaz, and PML-N senior leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhary — have conveyed their willingness to address the issues. The JI team, comprising Secretary General Ameerul Azeem and JI Islamabad Emir Nasarullah Randhawa, submitted their detailed position to the government, stating that the talks have so far been held in a positive atmosphere.
Baloch noted that the government committee did not express any disagreement with JI’s demands, but the party will still continue its anti-inflation march towards Islamabad starting at 6 PM today. He lamented the hike in electricity costs, attributing it to the government’s agreements with IPPs. “National resources were sunk into the blind well of IPPs. The government must seriously reconsider these agreements,” he said, calling for a revision and investigation into the agreements.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar told journalists that progress had been made regarding JI’s demands, with some issues decided in writing. “We have reached consensus on some issues, while others are yet to be decided,” he said, adding that another round of talks with the JI team will be conducted on Thursday.
Tarar mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already started taking steps to address the problems mentioned in JI’s demands. He highlighted the government’s commitment to providing cheap electricity and revising agreements with IPPs, noting that a task force has been constituted for this purpose. “Jamaat’s demands are on the government’s agenda,” he said, adding that the government aims to reduce electricity prices, with a significant subsidy of Rs50 billion provided to consumers using up to 200 units of electricity for the months of June, July, and August.
Regarding JI’s decision to continue its march towards Islamabad, Tarar stated that it is the party’s right, and the government will facilitate it. He also mentioned that the JI workers arrested in Sialkot have been released.
