Second round of talks between govt, JI delayed

RAWALPINDI: The government committee, formed to negotiate with the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI),  did not hold the second round of talks on Monday due to undisclosed reasons, ARY News reported.

The sources said that the government’s negotiation team, comprising Information Minister Atta Tarar, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, and Amir Muqam, had assured the JI that the second round would take place on Monday.

The whole day has passed, but the government committee did not contact the party, the JI leader said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the first round of talks between the government and JI took place on July 28 at the Commissioner Rawalpindi’s office.

The JI presented all its demands to the government committee. The JI committee included Liaquat Baloch, Amirul Azeem, Nasrullah Randhawa, and Farasat Shah.

The JI’s sit-in has been ongoing for the past 4 days, with a large number of people participating, demanding the acceptance of their demands. A large number of women workers also arrived to participate in the sit-in.

Addressing the participants earlier in the day, JI Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that the electricity bills will fall on the people like ‘bombs’ in August.

He said that there are many people in Pakistan whose salaries are less than their electricity bills.

“Women are compelled to sell their household items to pay the electricity bills,” the JI chief lamented.

Hafiz Naeemur Rehman alleged that hundreds of their women workers were stopped in Lahore from reaching the sit-in, terming it the ‘fascism’ of the Punjab government.

“What capacity charges when the government have shares in 52 percent of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” JI chief said.

He called the contracts with IPPs as unlawful and also demanded to make these agreements public.

He also demanded the accountability of those officers involved in inflicting losses on the country.

Hafiz Naeem’s Jamaat-e-Islami protesting against excessive electricity bills that have caused an uproar across Pakistan.

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also demanded an end of the perks and privileges being enjoyed by the government ministers and officials including free electricity and gas quotas.

JI leader said that the prime minister, chief ministers, other ministers and officials should not be given official cars above 1300 CC.

“The economy will hurtle to more damage if the government fails to take care of the salaried class,” he added.