LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq has said the successive governments have desperately failed to protect the rights of millions of labourers, small farmers, daily wagers and other working class, demanding fulfilment of demands of trade unions in the budget.

The reality is that the capitalists and feudal lords deceitfully represented the labourers and farmers, and the change would only happen when the people from the communities would reach the parliament, he said while addressing a May Day rally on The Mall on Monday. The National Labour Federation organised the event.

The JI, he said, proposed the national vote after Eidul Azha, as the elections were the only solution to the prevailing crises. “I hope the sanity would prevail and the PDM and the PTI would reach consensus on the election.”

He said the political leadership must put aside their mutual differences and evolve an agreement on the polls in the country’s interest.

Haq demanded that the government address the concerns of the people of Karachi and other parts in the ongoing census. He also asked the Balochistan government to release the Gwadar Movement leader Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, saying Baloch was put in jail for raising the voice for the fisherman and locals of the port city. The JI, he said, was standing firm for the rights of Gwadar.

The JI chief said the ruling parties have deceived the labourers and working class during every election by making false claims. They, he added, never looked back after getting elected. He appealed to the nation to start a peaceful struggle and vote for the JI candidates in the coming election to get their due share in the country’s resources.

Countrywide rallies were held to protect the rights of Gwadar and the oppressed class and release of Hidayatur Rahman Baloch on the appeal of the JI chief on May Day.

A large number of people participated.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2023