LAHORE, May 25: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) held a rally on The Mall here on Sunday to protest against rising inflation, lawlessness, loadshedding and continuation of General Pervez Musharraf (retired) in power.The participants of the rally marching on from Masjid-i-Shohada in Regal Chowk to Faisal Square in front of the Punjab Assembly building carried banners and placards. They chanted slogans against inflation, lawlessness and judges appointed under the Provisional Constitution Order. The participants also torched the effigy of ‘dictatorship’ in Faisal Square.

Addressing the participants of the rally, acting amir of the JI’s Lahore chapter Amirul Azeem, Khaksar Tehreek President Hameeduddin Al-Mashraqi, National Labour Federation President Rafiq Ahmed Khan and former MPA Chaudhry Shaukat said that the people were fed up with the misrule of President Musharraf and they wanted getting rid of him.

They said that banners about the rally had been removed by the officials of ‘secret agencies’ from different parts of the city.

They said that the new government was delaying the restoration of judges despite making repeated promises. The government had also failed to impeach General Musharraf and was trying to give constitutional cover to his Nov 3, 2007 action through its constitutional package instead.

Pakistan People’s Party Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari was taking about solving basic problems of the people forgetting that nothing could be done in this respect without a system of justice, they said. They said that the people would resort to hold a ‘gherao’ of the assembly members supporting the so-called constitutional package and the JI would be in the vanguard of the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary.

Sudan president: Sudan President Omar Hassan El Bashir made a brief stopover at the Lahore airport in the early hours on Sunday on his way to South Korea.

Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Ambassador of Sudan Daffa All Elhaj Ali received the Sudan president and his eight cabinet members at the airport and stayed with them till their departure for Korea.

After completion of his state visit to South Korea, the Sudan president will proceed to Japan for participation in the Tokyo International Conference on development of Africa. —Reporter