RAWALPINDI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Thursday decided to march towards Murree Road in its bid to protest against inflation, particularly the rising cost of electricity, in the country.
The party, which has staged a sit-in in Rawalpindi, also concluded the fourth round of its “confidential” talks with the government to resolve the deadlock with regards to their demands raised in the protests — albeit with no concrete resolution in place.
Addressing a presser at the Commissioner’s House on Wednesday, JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch said the party’s sit-in is aimed at providing relief to the public.
“We will go ahead with our march on Murree Road which will start at 6pm on Thursday and we will inform media if any progress is made in talks with the government,” said the senior politician, adding that the party’s sit-in is organised, peaceful and reflective of the public’s demands.
Baloch said that the JI has has received feedback from the government committee on its six-point demands.
The workers of the JI have been staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi for around two weeks, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government to revise tax rates, review agreements with independent power producers (IPPs), and slash electricity and fuel prices to provide relief to the inflation-hit masses.
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 so far.
The politico added that the government representatives — comprising federal ministers Attaullah Tarar, Amir Muqam, Prime Minister’s Media Coordinator Badar Shahbaz and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Tariq Fazal Chaudhary — have conveyed how they want to address issues.
