Uproar: outsiders’ out weight local employees at Jamaat-i-Islami Liaqat Bagh sit-in

RAWALPINDI: A large portion of those attending the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) sit-in at Liaquat Bagh are from the central and southern districts of Punjab as well as from portions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Many of these individuals have vowed to oppose the government’s plans to raise power rates and impose burdensome taxes in the federal budget.

Containers were positioned on the main thoroughfare that runs through the center of the garrison city, and Murree Road remained stopped to traffic from Marrir Chowk to Committee Chowk as the protest reached its second day.

Consequently, the area’s business operations were impacted. In the morning, the JI leadership was noticeably absent from the about 3,000 individuals, the majority of whom were laborers, gathered at the protest site. Despite the fact that the party had set up tents for protesters in the park, the demonstrators opted to register their protest by occupying the road.

Mohammad Anwar, an Okara resident, told Dawn that he had come to Rawalpindi to protest inflation, which he claimed was too high for the majority of people. The JI followers, according to Mr. Anwar, are split up into smaller groups of five to seven individuals, and the majority of them have brought a few sets of clothes. But he added that because of the hot and muggy conditions, they didn’t require sleeping bags.

He declared, “We can sleep anywhere in the park.”

According to Bahawalnagar resident Bashir Ahmed, his group of up to 20 persons arrived at this location at the invitation of the JI leadership. Despite the heat, he said it was their obligation to hold this demonstration against the crippling inflation. He stated he intended to stay here for up to four days. The JI protester claimed he had been staying at a neighboring mosque until the evening in order to escape the heat. He said that by Sunday afternoon, the JI leadership was supposed to make a decision regarding the protest.

Participants pledge to stay put in spite of the heat and lament the lack of restrooms.

Since Friday night, Lahore resident Nisar Ali has been residing at Liaquat Bagh.

Bannu resident Kabir Khan claimed that he and his companions traveled to Rawalpindi to protest inflation, which the current administration was unable to control.

According to Peshawar resident Sajjad Khan, a significant number of “outsiders” were visible at the camp while some local workers were preoccupied with setting up the sit-in participants’ logistics, while the majority of attendees had left and gone home.

Some demonstrators voiced their displeasure over issues with restrooms during their sit-in.

“We have been using the restrooms in the park, at neighboring mosques, and even at the Marrir Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, and Committee Chowk metro bus stations,” Shahmir Hussain stated, noting that there weren’t enough of these facilities to accommodate the vast number of people.

A water stall had been put up in Liaquat Bagh by some donors, but most demonstrators were purchasing water from surrounding stores and vendors who had set up their stands close to the park, ostensibly to meet the protesters’ demands.

Leader of JI Rawalpindi Malik Azam stated that members were receiving three meals a day from the local branch of the political party. With the assistance of local workers and friends, “we have also provided carpets [to the sit-in] so the people can sit on the ground and offer their prayers without any problems,” he added.

The JI leader claimed that the reason the Jamaat’s local followers were less in number than those who had traveled from other regions of the nation was because they were too busy organizing the demonstrators.