Demands Not Met, Protest Movement Will Turn Into Campaign to Topple Govt, Hafiz Naeem

He said voices calling for revolution were being heard everywhere, while a small group had been continuously exploiting the rights of the people. Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami had taken to the streets not for its own interests but for the sake of Pakistan's 250 million people.

Jamaat-e-Islami has presented its proposals to the government, said Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, adding that for every day the negotiations continue, three more sit-ins are being added. He said the government had asked for three days' time, perhaps expecting the party to stop its protest, but increased petrol prices on the very day it sought the extension.

Hafiz Naeem accused the government of insulting Pakistan's 250 million people and warned that Jamaat-e-Islami would come to Islamabad and show the government what would happen. He challenged the authorities to place containers on the roads if they could stop the protesters, referring to Murree Road and asking them to remember 1996 and 1997. He said Jamaat-e-Islami's politics was for the people.

He said the party had protested against Independent Power Producers (IPPs) two years ago. At that time, the government had also claimed that it could not negotiate with IPPs, but the JI sit-in had forced the government to engage with them.

Hafiz Naeem said the party was now protesting against the petroleum levy, which he described as an injustice against the people. He claimed that the levy had no connection with the actual price of petrol. He accused the government of putting the burden on poor people while its own leaders enjoyed luxuries. He said the government was even collecting Rs106 from students who had no income.

Hafiz Naeem said the government claimed it could not abolish the levy because of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On the other hand, he alleged, the rulers were enjoying luxuries, and said Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif had travelled to London on a private jet.

He said the nation wanted the government to disclose the expenses of the trip and asked the rulers to tell the public about their tax returns and actual income. He alleged that politicians declared lower incomes in their tax returns around elections and claimed that this indicated the presence of black money.

Hafiz Naeem also questioned Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over the education system, asking why 52 percent of ninth-grade students had failed their examinations. He said more than 60 percent of students had failed in Rawalpindi, which he described as the highest failure rate.

He alleged that Maryam Nawaz had sold schools and said there was no one to hold the government accountable. He accused her of making a mockery of the younger generation and destroying the nation.

Hafiz Naeem said government education was not charity but a right of the people. He said the Constitution makes it the state's responsibility to provide free, quality and equal education. He further said that people were now being charged high fees for quality education, which he described as against the Constitution.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami had presented its proposals to the government. He said that for every day the negotiations continued, three more sit-ins were being added.

He said the government had asked for three days' time, perhaps expecting that Jamaat-e-Islami would stop its protest. However, he said that on the very day the government asked for more time, petrol prices were increased.

Hafiz Naeem accused the government of insulting Pakistan's 250 million people and warned that Jamaat-e-Islami would come to Islamabad and show the government what would happen next.

He challenged the authorities to place containers on the roads if they could stop the protesters. Referring to Murree Road, he asked the government to remember the years 1996 and 1997.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami's politics was for the people and reiterated that the party would continue its struggle for their rights.

Addressing a public gathering in Gujranwala on Friday, Hafiz Naeem warned the government to provide immediate relief to the people or face a movement to oust the government. He said caravans would travel to Islamabad from across the country.

Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, including Central Punjab Ameer Javed Kasuri and Gujranwala Ameer Mazhar Randhawa, also addressed the gathering. Leaders of the party's women's wing also attended.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami's sit-ins against the petroleum levy in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and dozens of other locations across the country had entered their 27th day.

He announced that he would address a women's public gathering at Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad on Saturday and said the protest campaign would be expanded further.

Earlier, Hafiz Naeem chaired a meeting of Jamaat-e-Islami's leadership from across the country at Mansoorah, where the ongoing protest movement was discussed.

Addressing the Gujranwala gathering, Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami had emerged as a source of hope for the people and claimed that the ruling elite, including the bureaucracy, landlords and influential feudal families, had dominated the country for decades.

He said workers were facing severe hardships and children were being forced into labour, depriving them of education. He challenged the Sharif family, which he said had ruled Punjab for around 40 years, to disclose how much workers in their factories were being paid.

Hafiz Naeem also claimed that 6,500 cases involving the exploitation of women had been registered in Punjab, but only a few had resulted in convictions.

He challenged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to provide the Federal Board of Revenue with a complete account of her income and expenses, following her remarks about travelling to London on a government aircraft at her own expense.

He accused the Sharif and Zardari families of being among those responsible for what he described as increasing hardships faced by poor people in the country.

Hafiz Naeem claimed that more than 40 percent of Punjab's population was living in poverty and criticised the government over what he described as excessive spending while people faced economic difficulties.

He said the government had collected Rs1,567 billion from the poor in the form of petroleum levy and questioned why people were still deprived of basic healthcare and education despite paying the levy.

He also criticised successive governments for citing International Monetary Fund conditions while imposing financial burdens on the public.

Hafiz Naeem said successive governments since the 1990s had benefited independent power producers and questioned why rulers did not reduce their own expenditures instead of imposing additional taxes and levies on the public.

He also questioned the federal government's allocation of funds for departments whose powers had largely been transferred to the provinces under the 18th Amendment.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader also called for an end to interest-based financial practices, referring to a decision of the Federal Shariat Court. He claimed that eliminating even three percent interest could provide thousands of billions of rupees in benefit to the national treasury.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami had presented these arguments during negotiations with the government but claimed that the government had failed to provide satisfactory answers.

He warned that if the rulers had no answers, the people would hold them accountable.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief also criticised the state of education in Sindh and Punjab. He claimed that 52 percent of students in government schools had failed the ninth-grade examinations and alleged that 11,000 schools had been sold while another 25,000 were being prepared for sale.

He also claimed that basic health centres and hospitals were being put up for sale and criticised the Punjab government over its healthcare policies.

Hafiz Naeem accused the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party of depriving people of education, healthcare and employment.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami was also protesting across Sindh against what it described as corruption by the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami was protesting not for its own interests but for the rights of the people. He called on the government to stop what he described as political theatrics and provide people with their due rights.

He concluded by saying that if the people united, they could remove what he called oppressive rulers from power.