JI postpones planned protest in Rawalpindi on Sunday

ISLAMABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) postponed their planned pretest in Rawalpindi set for Sunday (today) due to concerns regarding public safety and road obstructions in the area.

The JI Information Secretary for Rawalpindi, Ahmed Bhatti, comforted that the protest will now take place on coming Friday.

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The Jamaat-e-Islami had previously planned a protest for Sunday (today), in light of rising electricity bills and involvement of independent power producers (IPPs) in the energy sector.

with the JI chief, Hafiz Naeem, criticising the financial strain imposed on salaried workers through fuel price adjustment and additional taxes reflected in their electricity bills.

He pointed out that since the year 2000, IPPs have received a huge chunk of financial assistance while the consumers continued to bear the brunt of increasing costs.

The protests had been previously scheduled to take place in several cities across Pakistan today, with a major event in Rawalpindi.

The chief ameer of JI talked about the critical nature of the issue during a rally in Hyderabad, where he called on the public to raise their voice against the skyrocketing prices and high cost of living,

The JI chief had also asked the citizens to voice their opposition against the “illegitimate Zionist state of Israel”. He also called for standing in solidarity with resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine.

Hafiz Naeem encouraged the Pakistani public to join the protests. “Initially, we organsied a shutter-down strike; now we will implement a wheel-jam strike”.

The JI chief criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), suggesting that their internal conflicts following the detention of their leader revealed a lack of unified political organisation.

He claimed that in contrast, Jamaat-e-Islami, possesses a ‘robust electoral framework’ and is dedicated to the restoration of democracy and the supremacy of the constitution of Pakistan.

Addressing the situation in Gaza, Hafiz Naeem remarked that the region has faced a year of ongoing conflict, which has resulted in over 42,000 Palestinians losing their lives. A high number of the casualties were women and children

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He denounced leaders who were inclined to establish relations with Israel, and called for a collection effort to advocate for the Palestinian cause.