JI determined to hold Liaquat Bagh rally

JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday warned that the party would stage sit-ins on the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad if the government did not allow its public gathering at Liaquat Bagh.

Addressing a press conference at Charing Cross in Lahore, Rehman said he was leaving for Rawalpindi, where he would meet traders and address a public gathering at Liaquat Bagh. He alleged that the Punjab government was uncomfortable with the JI sit-in and had locked the venue.

He said workers were ready to break the locks and enter Liaquat Bagh, but the party leadership had stopped them from doing so. "If the government does not grant permission, we will hold sit-ins on the roads of Rawalpindi and Islamabad," he said.

Rehman said the JI's protests were peaceful and claimed that not even a flowerpot had been broken during the demonstrations. "We do not break anyone's head, set anything on fire or break flowerpots. If the government wants to remove us by force, let it try its strength. We have seen such tactics before."

The JI chief said the party's sit-ins against the petroleum levy had entered their 15th day and were expanding, with demonstrations continuing in Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Quetta and Peshawar.

He rejected the impression that the government could exhaust the protesters and force them to return home. Rehman said the government had initially contacted the JI for talks and the party had never refused negotiations. "We are not in a hurry for talks. If the government wants to resolve the people's problems, it should come and talk to us," he said.

He announced that the JI would hold a nationwide shutter-down strike on September 3 as the first phase of its protest campaign. He said preparations were under way and the strike would be "powerful".

The JI chief criticised the government for imposing taxes on ordinary citizens while failing to collect sufficient revenue from wealthy and influential groups.

He said salaried people are paying taxes, fixed charges are being imposed through electricity bills, and the petroleum levy is being collected. "The government should take money from the big people as well."

He demanded an end to what he described as preferential treatment for influential industries and the elite, including subsidised gas and electricity and other concessions.

Rehman said Pakistan had around 25 million motorcycles and questioned the decision to further burden their users with taxes. He said the absence of an effective public transport system had forced people, particularly young people, to rely on motorcycles.

He said Lahore should have had an underground and circular railway system decades ago. Building the Metro and Orange Line, he added, could not by itself be described as a major achievement.

He also criticised the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), alleging corruption in the scheme and describing it as a programme that was making people dependent rather than self-reliant.