Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch announced that the government will form a technical committee to resolve issues related to power and tax hikes, while the party’s ongoing sit-in at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh will continue. JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned of expanding the protest to other areas if the government fails to meet its demands.

The protest, which entered its second day, caused the closure of Murree Road from Marrir Chowk to Committee Chowk, affecting business activities in the area. A government delegation led by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar engaged in talks with JI protesters, agreeing to hold formal discussions on Sunday to address JI’s demands.

Baloch stated that a positive first round of talks was carried out, where JI clarified their agenda and that the protest was not a personal party agenda but for the issues of the people. The government told them that their demands were noted and would form a technical committee to look into the protest’s demands.

Rehman, addressing the sit-in, thanked the protesters and said that power and tax hikes are not just a problem for JI but for the entire country. He demanded that electricity bills be reduced and criticized independent power producers (IPPs), stating that their contracts were being “hidden from the people”.

The JI chief also stated that the salaried class in Pakistan was “paying more taxes compared to India” and slammed the “landlords and capitalists” for making the decisions. He appealed to people from all walks of life to join the protest.

A large number of participants at the sit-in came from central and southern districts of Punjab and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with about 3,000 people present in the morning. The JI leadership had installed tents in the park for the protesters, but participants chose to occupy the road to register their protest.

On Friday, JI demanded that the government show its “seriousness for talks” by releasing protesters detained by the police. The party’s protests in Islamabad had begun on Friday evening and were soon met with arrests, according to the party.