If govt tries to disrupt sit-in: JI warns of besieging Sindh Secretariat

KARACHI: The sit-in staged by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) outside the Sindh Assembly against the Sindh Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2021 entered the third day on Sunday and its leaders said the religious party would continue the protest if the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government did not withdraw the controversial bill which, they said, was aimed at squeezing powers of the city government.

A large number of people, particularly delegations from various cooperative societies, organisations and rural areas of the province, visited the sit-in camp on Sunday to express solidarity and share their own ordeal. Volunteers of the JI youth held a blood donation camp at the sit-in. Food was also cooked on the occasion for the participants of the sit-in.

According to the JI leaders, the party's women activists will join the sit-in on Monday. Protesters chanted slogans against the Sindh government, legislators and the police when a large contingent of law enforcers cordoned off the venue of the sit-in.

Speaking on the occasion, JI Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that the protest was aimed at taking back the usurped rights of the people in Karachi and other areas of the province.

The JI is a peaceful party and believes in peaceful struggle, so the sit-in has been continued for three days without any violence, he said, adding, "if the government attempts to disrupt the peaceful protest, it will have to face the consequences.” He warned not only the Sindh Secretariat will be blocked but sit-ins will also be spread across the city if the Sindh government used force against the protesters.

The JI leader said the Sindh government will realise the situation in Karachi once its ministers were back in Karachi after enjoying their holidays. “The government will have to deliver the due rights of Karachi," he said, demanding jobs for the youth of Karachi.

Hafiz Naeem made it clear that the JI will continue its struggle till the Sindh government repeals its black law that resulted in less powers for the local government set-up. He also criticised the PTI and MQM for increasing the miseries of masses. He also highlighted the injustices to the affected people of various projects in the city. JI Karachi Deputy Chief Osama Razi, JI Thatta chief Altaf Mallah, Pakistan Islamic Medical Association President Abdullah Muttaqi and others also addressed the protesters.