ISLAMABAD: Emir of Jamaat-i-Islami Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday gave a call of protest rally in Lahore on May 16 to express solidarity with farmers who are already protesting against the government for not procuring fresh crop of wheat in the country.

Speaking at a press conference, the JI chief warned the provincial government of Punjab to refrain from blocking the route of the Jamaat rally otherwise the government will be responsible for any untoward incident at the Mall Road, Lahore.

“We are going to hold a peaceful rally in Lahore on May 16 along with farmers and if the government tries to block our way, the responsibility for any untoward situation will lie with the provincial government,” the JI emir said, adding that if the federal government was serious in addressing the problem of farmers it should do it at once so that there is no more protest on the issue.

He said first the government had promised the growers that their crop will be procured, but later it backed out of its promise.

Mr Rehman also condemned the decision of the last caretaker government for importing wheat despite expectations of a bumper crop in the country.

The JI chief also urged people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to avoid violent protest on the issue of wheat flour and electricity and said both the government and the people of the area must refrain from giving any opportunity to India to take advantage of the situation.

About a recent statement of former caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar regarding unveiling of facts about Form 47 (result of recent general elections), the JI leader said that Mr Kakar must be taken into protective custody and he must be inquired about his statement.

“The life of caretaker prime minister must be in danger after he passed these remarks while replying to a PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi, because the entire government of PML-N is standing on the basis of alteration in the Form 47,” he added.

The Islamabad police on Friday prevented a pro-Palestinian rally by JI from moving towards the US Embassy, where demonstrators wanted to stage a sit-in to protest against Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2024