GUJRAT: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has not yet changed or postponed its scheduled sit-in at D-Chowk in front of the Parliament House on Oct 31 and it has announced that it will gather jobless youths to remind Prime Minister Imran Khan of his promise to provide 10 million jobs.

However, violent clashes between the TLP workers and law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) in Sadhoke, Gujranwala, and blockade of the roads between Lahore and Islamabad has been a cause of concern for the organisers of JI’s sit-in, party insiders say and add that tense situation may also cause unavailability of vehicles to transport the youth to Islamabad.

JI’s Punjab north emir Dr Tariq Saleem told Dawn here on Wednesday that the party was determined to hold its planned sit in the federal capital but it had been cautiously observing the situation emerging out of the violent clashes between the workers of TLP and the LEAs. He said party’s district chapters in north and central Punjab as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were busy making arrangements for the protest.

In Islamabad, he said, senior officials of the JI held a meeting with the deputy commissioner and other officers to discuss the arrangements. The party had already informed the authorities about JI’s rally for the jobless youths. He said the Islamabad administration had asked it to change the venue for D-Chowk and hold it along Blue Area’s main boulevard but the party would organise the programme as per already announced venue and schedule.

He said he had also talked to party chief Sirajul Haq and secretary general Ameerul Azeem over telephone and discussed the situation and the leaders had directed to continue the preparations.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2021