JI says Islamabad march will go ahead in mid-November after talks with PM

• JI chief says govt sought another 7-10 days to decide on levy.
• Naeem demands mechanism to abolish levy before march.
• JI emir threatens street sit-in if demands remain unmet.
  

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said Tuesday the party would go ahead with its Islamabad long march in mid-November despite the government seeking another seven to 10 days to address its demand for abolishing the petroleum levy.

JI would continue preparations for the march and begin mobilisation across the country while holding further talks with the government, Hafiz Naeem told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“We will no longer postpone the Islamabad march,” the JI chief said. “We will continue talking to the government, but the march will take place in mid-November.”

He said the prime minister had sought another seven to 10 days, while the two sides agreed that greater relief would be provided on petroleum products.

However, Hafiz Naeem said differences remained over how that relief should be delivered.

“We say the levy should be abolished; they say relief will be provided in phases,” he said, adding that the government was talking about gradually eliminating the petroleum levy while JI wanted its immediate abolition.

He urged the government to devise a mechanism for abolishing the levy and announce its package before JI begins its march.

The JI chief said the petroleum levy was disproportionately burdening the middle and lower-income classes, while the government's existing relief package was providing little benefit to the public. He reiterated that JI wanted both lower petrol prices and the abolition of the levy.

Hafiz Naeem claimed the government had reconsidered its position because of JI’s protests, questioning whether any relief package would have been announced had the party not taken to the streets.

He warned that JI could intensify its protest if its demands remained unmet. “We may have to sit on the streets and talk,” he said.

Responding to a question about negotiations with the government, Hafiz Naeem said talks had to be held with whoever was in power, “whether they are from Form 47 or Form 48”.

“If a hijacker hijacks a plane, you have to talk to him,” he remarked.