Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, has announced that the party would hold a Gaza march across the country on Wednesday to express solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine. Addressing a press conference in Karachi on the current international and domestic situation, he said vigorous efforts would be made to support the people of Gaza and Palestine, adding that the grand Gaza march in Karachi had proved that the hearts of Karachi’s residents beat with their Palestinian brethren. 

Jamaat-e-Islami has always raised its voice for the oppressed people of Palestine, while the Alkhidmat Foundation has so far delivered assistance worth approximately Rs10 billion to the people of Gaza. He said this was the first time in Pakistan’s history that a political party was not merely raising slogans but establishing free IT education centres for young people at its offices. The scope of Bano Qabil had been expanded further, and a modern institute had also been established in Lahore, where free IT education would be provided to Pakistani citizens as well as people from Gaza. 

Jamaat-e-Islami is a peaceful party, he said, adding that its protests, public gatherings and signature campaign were continuing and that it had not withdrawn even for a day from its right to march on Islamabad. If the government did not abolish the extortion tax imposed in the name of the petroleum levy, Jamaat-e-Islami would restart its long march. “Our entire programme is ready; only the announcement remains. We will announce our next course of action after 7 October,” he said. Talks between the government and the opposition, particularly the PTI, failed after appearing close to success. Governor’s rule or an emergency would not be acceptable under any circumstances, he said, adding that if negotiations had failed, they should be resumed. 

Peaceful protest is the constitutional, democratic and political right of every political party. He called for the immediate release, on humanitarian grounds, of all PTI women and ailing elderly leaders, while urging the government to accept Imran Khan’s legitimate demands under the PTI’s constitution and law, including access to a hospital and meetings. Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Muneem Zafar Khan, Karachi Deputy Ameer Muslim Pervez, Karachi Deputy Secretary Younis Barai, JI Sindh Assembly member Muhammad Farooq, Information Secretary Zahid Askari, Senior Deputy Information Secretary Sohaib Ahmed and others were also present at the press conference.

Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said Israel had failed on every front on 7 October, but had resumed bombing Palestine with US assistance. He said the United States, which claimed to be a champion of human rights, had so far supported Israel with hundreds of millions of Dollars. US President Donald Trump had also provided Israel with dangerous bombs that former US President Joe Biden had not supplied. He said there was no visible performance by the so-called “Peace Board.” According to the latest international media reports, the United States was set to provide Israel with approximately $2.8 million worth of additional bombs. 

Despite the ceasefire, Israel had so far killed 1,500 Palestinians and wounded 5,000, while reports said the remains of at least 10,000 people were still buried under piles of building rubble. As a result of Hamas’s struggle, an unprecedented public wave in support of Palestine had emerged in Western countries, with people raising their voices against their own governments. He said the United States had lied in various matters, including Iraq and Afghanistan, massacred countless people and established hundreds of military bases worldwide.

“Today, all Zionist forces are standing with Trump,” he said. Jamaat-e-Islami would hold a Gaza march across the country on 7 October to express solidarity with the people of Gaza. Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said the government’s petroleum relief package was insignificant and that the government had done the public no favour by announcing it. He regretted that no political party other than Jamaat-e-Islami was speaking about this important public issue. He said the government had been forced to announce the relief package as a result of Jamaat-e-Islami’s sustained struggle and pressure. 

He said the government was repeatedly announcing that 7 million people had been included in the package, but Pakistan had 25 million motorcycles and more than 4 million vehicles with engine capacities of up to 1,000 and 1,200cc. The government had included only vehicles up to 800cc in the package, while not all motorcyclists could benefit from the facility. Thus, the relief announced by the government was not reaching a large section of the public. Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said that if the government feared cheap petrol would also benefit wealthy people, it should create a separate system for the affluent and double petrol prices for larger vehicles.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)