JI defers Islamabad long march, keeps protest campaign active

Jamaat-e-Islami has postponed its planned long march toward Islamabad until the first week of October after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif contacted party Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and sought a delay. Announcing the decision at a press conference in Multan on Tuesday, Hafiz Naeem said the party would continue its wider protest campaign while leaving the door open for negotiations with the government.

The JI leader said the postponement did not amount to ending the movement. He said protest sit-ins would continue and that the party's gathering in Multan would remain in place while it awaited talks with the prime minister. Hafiz Naeem indicated that the long march could be resumed if the discussions failed to produce measures that the party considered sufficient.

Petroleum prices and the petroleum levy remain central to JI's campaign. Hafiz Naeem said the party had submitted proposals seeking relief for consumers and had asked the government to withdraw the levy. He argued that rising fuel costs were adding to financial pressure on households and maintained that existing relief measures did not adequately address the concerns raised during the protests.

The party has been pursuing its demands through a series of demonstrations and a train march that travelled from Karachi through Rohri to Multan. Hafiz Naeem said sit-ins were continuing in dozens of cities as part of the campaign. He also said several rounds of discussions with government representatives had already taken place before the decision to delay the next phase of the march.

The prime minister contacted Hafiz Naeem from New York and asked the party to postpone its planned move toward Islamabad. According to an official account of the conversation, Shehbaz said the government was attempting to provide petroleum-related relief to economically vulnerable and middle-income groups despite difficult economic conditions. Both sides agreed to hold further consultations after the prime minister returns to Pakistan.

Hafiz Naeem said JI intends to seek written assurances during the next round of discussions before deciding how to proceed. He maintained that the party's campaign was focused on economic relief rather than confrontation and said negotiations could continue alongside peaceful political activity. The party has not announced a specific new date for entering Islamabad beyond saying the march has been deferred until the first week of October.

The development temporarily reduces the prospect of another large political procession heading toward the federal capital while authorities are already preparing extensive security arrangements for separate planned demonstrations. For commuters and businesses, any delay in a major march could reduce immediate pressure on transport routes, although continuing sit-ins and protest activity may still affect movement in participating cities.

Attention will now shift to the expected meeting between the prime minister and the JI leadership after his return from the United States. The outcome of those talks, particularly any commitments involving petroleum taxation or consumer relief, is likely to determine whether the party extends the postponement or proceeds with its Islamabad march in early October.