ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Islamabad Ameer Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa has said that a grand public meeting will be held in Islamabad on October 7 to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, with JI Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman addressing the gathering.
Addressing a press conference at the JI Islamabad office, Randhawa said October 7 was an important day in the story of the resistance, steadfastness and sacrifices of the people of Gaza. He said Israel had crossed all limits of oppression and brutality in Gaza but had failed to defeat the resolve and courage of the Palestinian people.
He said the first week of October was highly significant for the Muslim Ummah and Jamaat-e-Islami would express full solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza on the occasion. He announced that a major Solidarity with Gaza public meeting would be organised in Islamabad on October 7.
President Political Affairs Huma Ayub, Deputy Qayyum Tasawwar Kazmi and Information Secretary Rab Nawaz Malik were also present on the occasion.
Randhawa said that as a result of Israeli aggression in Gaza, more than 74,000 people had been martyred while nearly 175,000 had been injured. He said around 70 percent of the martyrs and injured were children and women.
He said 80 percent of Gaza had been completely destroyed while 94 percent of buildings were no longer fit for living. Educational institutions and hospitals had also been destroyed on a large scale.
The JI Islamabad chief said that even after the ceasefire in October last year, more than 1,500 people had been martyred and 20,000 injured in Gaza. He said the international community and the Muslim world would have to stand with the Palestinian people and raise an effective voice against Israeli aggression.
Randhawa said the people of Pakistan had always expressed strong solidarity with the Palestinian people. He said Jamaat-e-Islami had provided Rs11 billion in assistance for the people of Gaza, of which Rs1 billion had been collected by the citizens of Islamabad.
He said Alkhidmat Foundation was carrying out relief activities in Gaza and was also running hospitals and educational institutions there, while more than 500 Palestinian students were being provided educational facilities in Pakistan.
Randhawa said that on the appeal of JI Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, a countrywide Week of Solidarity with Gaza would be observed in connection with October 7. He said a large public meeting would also be held in Islamabad on October 7 to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, and Hafiz Naeemur Rehman would address it.
He said an application had been submitted to the Islamabad administration for the public meeting. He said the gathering would be one of the major programmes in the history of Islamabad and urged the people of the capital to participate in it fully.
Speaking about the petroleum levy, Randhawa said Jamaat-e-Islami’s movement to secure relief for the people was also continuing. He said several rounds of talks had been held with the government on the issue and expressed the hope that the matter of the petroleum levy would be resolved through negotiations and real relief would be provided to the people.
He said Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its struggle for the resolution of public issues, an end to inflation and the provision of relief to the people.
