Jamaat-E-Islami (JI) has announced a national strike on April 26 to protest against the ongoing military operations of Israel in Gaza and express solidarity with the Palestinians. The call was made by Chief Ji Hafiz Naeemur Rehman during a large pro-palestine concentration held on Sunday throughout the Islamabad highway.
When heading to thousands of participants, Rehman condemned what he described as a genocide in Gaza, where, according to the reports, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched their military response to the October 7 attack of Hamas.
“We will fulfill a complete strike from Chitral to Karachi,” he said. “We will visit all the markets and ask them to close in support of Palestine.” He also urged a boycott at the national level of products linked to Israeli interests and requested coordinated efforts that include strikes and online activism.
Rehman demanded that Pakistan officially recognize Hamas and allow the group to open a representative office in the country, calling Hamas “a democratically chosen force under international law.” “We are not slaves in the West,” he said. “The followers of the Prophet (PBUH) do not accept subjugation by the United States or Israel.”
In a sample of support for the strike, several associations of important merchants in Karachi have pledged to close businesses on April 26. This includes the Karachi Tajir Electronics Concessionaires.
The chief of Ji Karachi, Monem Zafar, met with the main commercial representatives on Friday. “We are next to the people of Gaza,” said Attique Mir, president of the Traders Alliance. “We will fully cooperate so that the strike is successful.”
