As Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) continues its sit-in at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh, the government has initiated its first formal contact with the party for “serious talks.”
Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi spoke with JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch to address the party’s demands, which include protests against soaring inflation and high electricity bills. JI claimed that at least 1,150 of its workers were arrested while attempting to march on Islamabad after Section 144 was imposed in the federal capital and across Punjab. Following this, JI staged a sit-in in Rawalpindi.
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The sit-in has caused significant traffic disruptions within the city, with police emphasizing that JI would not be allowed to protest in Islamabad without permission.
In his conversation with Naqvi, JI Vice Emir Baloch highlighted the party’s demand to abolish the “slab system” in electricity bills, which sets different per-unit rates based on usage, and called for a 50% reduction in bills for those using 500 units of electricity. Baloch urged the government to end its agreement for capacity payments in US dollars to independent power producers (IPPs) and to remove taxes on the salaried class. He also called for the abolition of the petroleum levy and a rollback of the recent fuel price hike.
This interaction follows Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar’s statement on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration’s willingness to hold talks with JI. “We are ready to talk for peace, security, and development of the country, which is the main agenda of our government,” Tarar said at a press conference in Islamabad.
‘Fascism and Talks Cannot Go Hand in Hand’
Speaking to party workers at the Rawalpindi sit-in, JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman called on the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, to release their activists and withdraw the charges against them. He emphasized that if their demands are not met, the party may escalate its protests. “Fascism and talks cannot go hand in hand,” he said.
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Regarding negotiations with the government, Naeem expressed reservations about the representatives proposed by the government. He stated that Liaquat Baloch is authorized to hold talks and that JI would announce its negotiation committee once the government names its own and addresses JI’s concerns about the proposed representatives.
Naeem also announced a public rally at Murree Road in Rawalpindi tomorrow evening, followed by a women’s gathering on Monday.