JI and govt representatives meet to discuss demands

As the sit-in staged in Rawalpindi by members and supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) to decry high prices of commodities and utilities entered its third day on Sunday, its representatives met those of the government to hold negotiations over the former’s demands. 

The JI’s sit-in in the garrison city’s Liaquat Bagh is aimed at forcing a reduction in the electricity bills and taxes. The religio-political party’s Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman warned on Saturday of expanding the protest to other cities if their demands were not met soon.

Speaking to reporters after the talks with government representatives, JI’s Naeb Emir Liaquat Baloch clarified that his party’s sit-in had not been discontinued even as the talks between the two sides had begun. 

The News reported that a three-member delegation — comprising federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Amir Muqam and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry — had met the JI’s negotiating team at the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office amid mounting pressure on the government to resolve the problem.

Speaking to media personnel after the talks between the two sides, Mr Baloch said negotiations were held in a “pleasant environment”. “We laid out our demands before the government, and they will set up a technical team tomorrow to look into them,” the senior JI leader said.

He said his party’s protest was totally apolitical and aimed solely at demanding relief for the masses tormented by the scourge of runaway inflation. There might be several rounds of talks, he said, adding that the sit-in would continue for now.

“Electricity and petrol prices have become unbearable for the nation; whereas, the government has not signed any international agreement with the independent power producers,” he said.

He said the JI would not let anyone sacrifice the nation to protect the interests of capitalists. “The masses will get relief if the government takes their miseries seriously,” he said.

Mr Baloch said they had handed over a list of 35 persons who were arrested during the ongoing protest, to the government representatives. He, however, added that most of the arrested JI workers had already been released.