ISLAMABAD: Protest caravans of a Pakistani religious party entered the federal capital on Friday, planning to stage a sit-in against the rising cost of living and additional taxes imposed in the latest budget presented last month, as the government formed a negotiation committee to engage with its leadership.
The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, led by Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, announced the sit-in in Islamabad to forcefully call for a reduction in the power tariff amid soaring inflation and to review Pakistan’s agreements with independent power producers.
The party’s caravans entered the capital from different directions, as the district administration closed the Red Zone — a sensitive neighborhood of the city housing top government offices and the diplomatic enclave — with shipping containers and all other main routes leading to the Parliament House.
“We are ready for negotiations, but don’t disrupt public life,” Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said while addressing the situation in a news conference.
He said the government had formed a three-member committee to talk to the JI leadership, which included him and two senior members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
“The government’s three-member committee will talk to you. Amir Muqam, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and I will negotiate with you,” he continued, naming two other members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
“Whenever you express willingness, we are ready for the negotiations,” he added.
Meanwhile, JI’s spokesperson in Islamabad said the party would continue with its protest.
“Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman will be joining the sit-in at Zero Point shortly,” Aamir Baloch told Arab News, mentioning a major intersection in the city where various key roads and highways connect with each other.
He said thousands of JI workers had already reached the area to stage the sit-in despite the government’s “brutalities.”
“The police have arrested dozens of our peaceful workers from D-Chowk,” he said, referring to another spot in the city located near the parliament building. “The government wants to incite the peaceful protesters through such strong-arm tactics. It will be responsible for any law and order situation if our workers are not released immediately.”
Police in the capital have deployed additional contingents, including its personnel with riot gears, to prevent any untoward incident. The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Express Highway has also been closed with the shipping containers near the Zero Point bridge where the JI protesters have gathered.
Baloch said the party leadership would announce their agenda after reaching Zero Point.
“One thing is for sure,” he continued. “We are here to stay and will definitely stage a sit-in to press the government to meet our legitimate demands regarding inflation and taxes.”
Government forms negotiation committee as Islamabad faces sit-in by religious party over inflation
https://arab.news/y98qv
Government forms negotiation committee as Islamabad faces sit-in by religious party over inflation
- Jamaat-e-Islami workers have reached a key intersection in the federal capital to hold their demonstration
- They want the government to address the cost-of-living crisis, remove additional taxes in the federal budget
Pakistan opens real-time digital payment system to exchange companies as reserves edge up
- Raast enables low-cost transfers between banks, microfinance firms and electronic money wallets
- Pakistan’s overall foreign reserves stand at $21.25 billion as central bank holdings rise $16 million
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank on Thursday allowed exchange companies to route home remittances through its instant payment system, Raast, saying the move aims to promote digital transactions and improve the efficiency of inflows, as the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose modestly in the latest week.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a statement that the country's total liquid foreign reserves stood at $21.25 billion as of Jan. 9, while the central bank’s own reserves rose $16 million to $16.07 billion.
The statement said the decision to extend Raast to exchange companies forms part of the central bank’s broader push to strengthen digital payments infrastructure and support a shift toward a cashless economy.
“Building an innovative and inclusive digital financial services ecosystem is one of the key objectives of State Bank of Pakistan under its Strategic Plan 2023-2028,” the SBP said.
“In furtherance of this vision, SBP has now allowed Exchange Companies (ECs) to utilize ‘Raast,’ a state-of-the-art payment system launched by SBP in 2021, to facilitate remitters and beneficiaries of home remittances,” it added.
Raast, a real-time digital payment system, allows instant and low-cost transfers between banks, microfinance institutions and electronic money wallets.
“Through this enablement, the beneficiaries receiving remittances through ECs can receive their funds in their accounts and wallets ... in a safe and efficient manner,” the statement said.
Pakistan relies heavily on workers’ remittances from abroad and has been seeking to channel more inflows through formal banking systems by strengthening digital and regulated payment networks, as authorities try to curb informal mechanisms such as hawala and hundi, underground value transfer systems that move money outside the banking sector.
