KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Friday staged a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly and vowed that leaders and workers of the party would continue the protest in the ‘Red Zone’ if the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government did not withdraw the controversial Sindh Local Government [Amendment] Act 2021.

The protesters led by JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rahman and deputy chief Dr Osama Razi marched from the Passport Office in Saddar to the Sindh Assembly after Friday prayers and staged a sit-in outside the assembly.

Until an hour before the sunset, a large number of JI workers and supporters, including women and children, had congregated at the main entrance to the assembly building.

Holding placards and banners, the charged protesters chanted slogans against the PPP government and the recently passed law.

The protesters were also joined by members of the civil society, human rights activists and leaders of legal fraternity and business community.

They also made brief speeches and supported the calls for protest demanding withdrawal of the new law and empowerment to the local government in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

“We have made enough appeals and requests [to the Sindh government],” said Hafiz Naeem while addressing the protesters. “The PPP has proved itself to be a party of feudal and landlords. They can’t even afford to listen to others. They cannot tolerate any voice challenging their opinion. They pretend to be democrat, but factually and practically they are feudal. The same mindset they have demonstrated while drafting the new local government law considering all people their peasants.”

He said the Sindh government had encroached upon every single authority meant for the city government and this had been done only to recover from the devastating defeat the PPP had already conceded.

“Why are you [PPP] taking over every single city government institution when you are so popular among the masses?” he asked while addressing to the protesters.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2022