JI demands release of all political prisoners
“Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday warned the government not to mistake his party's peaceful approach for weakness, saying its street power had already been demonstrated and tha…”
He said the relief secured through JI's campaign remained inadequate and demanded the complete abolition of the petroleum levy, deploring it as a "bhatta tax" (extortion) imposed on the public. Addressing a press conference, Hafiz Naeem said the government was presenting monthly relief of Rs25 billion to Rs30 billion as a major achievement, whereas JI considered it insufficient.
"Our peaceful approach should not be considered our weakness," he said, adding that the government would ultimately have to abolish the petroleum levy.
He also challenged PPP Chairman Bilawal Zardari, saying that if he was genuinely opposed to "establishment's electoral system", he should relinquish the "fake" mayoralty in Karachi and the national and provincial assembly seats obtained on the basis of Form 47. The JI emir said the country's prevailing political turmoil was causing the genuine issues facing the public to be overlooked.
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He said JI fully supported any political party's protest conducted within the Constitution and law and urged the government to hold serious negotiations to resolve the issue involving Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
He demanded the release of all political prisoners, including women, and specifically referred to Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ejaz Chaudhary, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Mahmoodur Rashid, saying that some of them were in poor health while remaining incarcerated. He said merely announcing a committee would not resolve the issue and denounced threatening statements and tones adopted by government ministers.
Referring to reports of alleged plans to impose governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the JI chief warned that such an "unconstitutional" step could backfire on the government.
He said PTI's demands were clear and included access to Imran Khan, medical facilities for him and meetings with him, adding that none of these demands was unjustified when considered in accordance with the law and its rules. Regarding the law-and-order situation in Karachi, Hafiz Naeem said people were losing their lives to street crime every day.
He cited the case of a family in Manghopir that,, buried its child 20 days after the death, and said another young man was killed in a street-crime incident the previous night.
He said JI's campaign had created awareness among the public that the petroleum levy was a form of "bhatta" or extortion-like tax and had no connection with the actual price of petrol. Hafiz Naeem said the party had given its long march a temporary pause following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's assurance but had not withdrawn from the protest.
He said demonstrations were still continuing across the country.
Written by Sheheryar Munawar
Aman-e-Pakistan Senior Journalist & Bureau Reporter
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