LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Senator Sirajul Haq on Sunday announced holding public marches in all major towns of the country against high prices, unemployment and the IMF “slavery”.

He was speaking to participants in the march held on The Mall here on Sunday. They included women and children. The march began from Masjid-i-Shuhada and terminated at Charing Cross where the JI leaders spoke to the crowd.

The participants holding banners condemned the price spiral, ever increasing unemployment and the government decision of placing the homeland in the IMF slavery.

JI General Secretary Amirul Azeem, JI deputy chiefs Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha and Abdul Ghaffar Aziz were also present.

Mr Haq said the government had removed elected finance minister Asad Umar and inducted an “IMF agent” in his place and handed him over keys to the public exchequer.

He said next year’s budget had resulted in the raise in the prices of essential items including pulses, flour, sugar, cement and cooking oil and multiplied the miseries of the common man. The prices of medicines had also increased tremendously.

He said the JI could not remain silent on the government indifference to the hardships of the masses. It would organise the nation against injustice and oppression and launch a full-fledged movement for this purpose. He said the next Awami March would be held in Faisalabad on June 23.

He said the objective of the JI movement was to free the masses from the oppressive price hike and the IMF slavery and it would not join any campaign aiming at securing the release of people put into jails.

Mr Haq said that out of the next year budget, a huge sum of Rs2,828 billion would go to the payment of interest on loans. He said the real objective was to put the country into chains through heavy loans and then to usurp its independence.

He said the prime minister had said governing the country was not much difficult. He said if the prime minister was aware of the hardships of the masses, especially hunger and poverty, he would not have uttered these words.

The JI chief said the prime minister after assuming his office had promised that he would not tell a lie to the nation. But now he was taking U-turn on every issue. Again, he said, Imran Khan had also said begging from the IMF was tantamount to suicide but now he had placed the economic system and the public exchequer in the hands of the IMF.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2019