PM firm on long march as 5th session of talks with govt concludes

The fifth round of talks between the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the government closed Saturday without an agreement after the religious-political party rejected a government plea to postpone its planned lengthy march due to security concerns.

The government team comprised Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah and Punjab Provincial Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique. The JI delegation included Deputy Ameer Liaquat Baloch, acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmed Janjua, special assistant to the JI chief Umair Idrees, Lahore Ameer Ziauddin Ansari and information secretary Shakeel Ahmed Turabi.

The government representatives asked the JI to postpone the long march due to security threats at the conference.

However, Liaquat Baloch stated JI will continue its protest until the levy was removed. He urged the administration to take real steps to meet public demands, warning that protests and long marches would continue if it did not.

The government delegation told the JI that the public will soon be supplied with tremendous assistance. Officials also highlighted pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stating an IMF group was due to come to Pakistan soon.

According to the published program of the JI, the lengthy march would be started today from Karachi under the leadership of the party’s emir.