The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has increased pressure on the coalition government led by the PML-N, threatening to shut down the entire nation if demands, such as lowering excessive electricity tariffs and reevaluating contracts with independent power producers (IPPs), are not met.
He threatened the demonstrators on Rawalpindi’s Murree Road on Monday as the sit-in entered its eleventh day that if the demands are not met, the Jamaat may even go so far as to shut down the entire nation.
The JI is putting pressure on the government to accede to the party’s demands by staging protests across the nation over exorbitant electricity bills and hefty taxes. In an effort to address the party’s concerns, the government is interacting with it.
The JI chief urged party activists to be on their marks in today’s speech. “Are you prepared to storm into the Prime Minister’s Office?” he asked, admonishing the administration to “pay attention,” failing which the Jamaat will issue a call for a march on the nation’s capital.
He emphasized that the JI is planning a march on August 7 or 8, and that the party would be meeting today to deliberate on next steps. But according to Hafiz Naeem, the government committee that was established to hold talks with the JI leadership has vanished.
Reiterating that the party would not back down from its demands, the JI leader added that the party opposes tariffs on bread, sugar, and powdered breast milk.
