F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The Jamat-e-Islami (JI) claimed that its 1,150 activists were arrested in different cities while trying to march on Islamabad to protest against inflation, on Friday.
JI is protesting against a massive hike in electricity prices. The federal capital has been completely sealed off with containers, effectively isolating it from surrounding areas, including Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, strict security arrangements have been made in Islamabad, with blockades on various arteries to keep the protesters from gathering, leading to widespread traffic disruptions across the city. Section 144 remains imposed across Punjab and the federal capital, prohibiting assemblies, processions and protests ahead of rallies announced by opposition parties.
Personnel of law enforcement agencies have been deployed in the federal capital to ensure compliance and citizens are urged to avoid participating in any illegal activity. Several individuals affiliated with JI were arrested by the Islamabad police while trying to gather in the federal capital for a protest at D-Chowk, in defiance of Section 144. Several others were arrested in Lahore as well when JI protesters gathered to march towards Islamabad.
In the wake of arrests and barricades, JI’s Rawalpindi Emir Arif Sherazi later announced that they would stage the sit-in outside Liaquat Bagh instead of D-Chowk, which will continue till their demands are accepted. The party’s representative said that JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, who is leading a march procession from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will reach Liaquat Bagh, where the sit-in is being staged.
Rawalpindi Central Police Officer Khalid Mahmood Hamdani said that JI had been permitted to stage a rally in Liaquat Bagh after agreeing on certain SOPs with the protestors. “The situation is peaceful here and no one will be allowed to deteriorate the situation,” he said. JI Emir Naeem, while addressing the protestors gathered at I-8, Islamabad, said that they were here for the rights of the people.
“This is a battle for the rights of the people,” he said, adding that they had come to hold a sit-in for the people. “We have come to provide relief to 250 million people. We have only one demand from the government — provide relief to the people,” he said. Naeem also demanded the release of the arrested JI members arrested today.
“Protest is our right, the arrested workers should be released,” he said. The JI leader also warned that the sit-in has just begun, saying that they “will stay here”. Earlier, the roads leading to the city from Rawalpindi were closed with containers as the JI protestors tried to reach the capital territory on leadership’s call.
On the Faizabad interchange, the police party was deployed to tackle the JI protestors coming in from different parts of the country for the sit-in. Meanwhile, the road leading to Parliament House from D-Chowk was completely blocked with barricades, but there the traffic moved without any trouble. The protesters trying to gather at this point were dispersed or taken into custody by the law enforcers. The police said that they would not allow JI to protest in Islamabad without permission.
They said that Red Zone is a sensitive location and no one can be allowed to stage sit-ins there. The JI initially remained adamant about staging the protests at D-Chowk today as its Emir Rehman had told the supporters to stage sit-in wherever they find obstructions. The leadership of JI expressed its resolve to hold a sit-in at D Chowk while defying all the restrictions being imposed by the Islamabad administration and police today.
In a statement issued earlier in the day, JI Secretary Information Qaiser Sharif said that the police are raiding the homes of the party’s workers and during a raid at JI Secretary General Amirul Azeem’s home, the law enforcers arrested his driver. “Jamaat-e-Islami leader Hafiz Muhammad Ajmal has been arrested. In Kharian, leader Mian Usman Rafi has been taken into custody. Eight other leaders have also been arrested from Khairpur Tamewali,” he added. While detailing the arrests of other leaders as well, Qaiser lamented that the Punjab government has resorted to its “traditional tactics” and claimed that the raids are being conducted in a bid to stop the sit-in from being staged.
