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Pakistan's Islamist political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced another protest days after his party deferred its two-week-long protest in Rawalpindi, as reported by Geo News.
Speaking to the media, Naeem said that JI would be considering calling for a peaceful protest by joining forces with trader groups, reported Geo News. He further said that consultations with traders are underway and that they have several options for organizing peaceful protests in collaboration with trade bodies. The announcement of new protests follows the party's decision to delay its 14-day sit-in last week after reaching agreements with the government. These negotiations addressed demands such as reducing high power tariffs and reassessing contracts with independent power producers (IPPs), which have been criticized for contributing to high utility bills due to large capacity payments, as reported by Geo News. The JI chief warned that they are deferring, not ending, the sit-in and that they would resume the sit-in if the government fails to honour their previous agreement. The announcement followed discussions between a JI delegation led by Liaquat Baloch and the government team, culminating in an agreement signed by Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi. During his press conference on Tuesday, Hafiz Naeem criticized the ruling elite for worsening the country's law and order issues, as reported by Geo News. He also said that there is no peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and that thieves and bandits rule in Sindh. He noted that Punjab's situation has also worsened compared to earlier. Geo News reported that he called on the rulers to improve the law and order situation. Naeem acknowledged that while expanding the tax base is necessary, he criticized the government for burdening the already inflation-stricken people with more taxes, particularly affecting traders and industrialists, as reported by Geo News. He urged the government to reduce taxes on the salaried class and warned that the party would protest again if the government did not honour their agreement. Naeem also mentioned that the government has only 40 days left and that the party has various protest options, as reported by Geo News. (ANI)
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