ISLAMABAD – Jamaat-e-Islami’s planned march towards Islamabad entered a new phase after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally contacted JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and asked him to postpone the protest following an offer of talks and public relief.
The telephone conversation came as the JI’s protest train reached Multan, with the party moving closer to the next stage of its march towards the federal capital. During the call, PM Sharif said the government was prepared to discuss the petroleum levy with the JI and urged Hafiz Naeem to delay the march until his return to Pakistan. The prime minister also indicated that further relief measures for the public could be considered.
Hafiz Naeem did not immediately call off the protest. Instead, he said the matter would be taken up with the party’s central Shura before a final decision is made.
JI chief also conveyed that the party was not seeking confrontation with the government or a law-and-order crisis, but maintained that its campaign was aimed at highlighting public concerns and demanding relief from rising fuel costs.
The party launched its long march from Karachi on September 20, with the campaign focused primarily on the abolition of the petroleum levy. The caravan travelled by train before reaching Multan, where Hafiz Naeem addressed supporters. Hafiz Naeem has maintained that reducing the burden of petroleum prices requires more than targeted relief and has continued to press for the complete withdrawal of the levy.
The march is expected to continue through Punjab before its planned movement towards Islamabad, although the latest discussions with the prime minister have opened the possibility of a temporary delay.
The two sides are expected to continue consultations, with Shehbaz Sharif set to meet Hafiz Naeem after returning to Pakistan. For now, the JI leadership is weighing the government’s request against its ongoing demand for the petroleum levy to be abolished. Any decision to pause the march is expected to follow consultation within the party.
