HYDERABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday questioned a delay in the train scheduled to take his caravan from Sukkur to Multan, with him later departing on the “second phase” of his party’s protest march to Islamabad.

JI launched a protest “march” towards the federal capital on Sunday, departing Karachi by train. The party has been demanding that the government abolish the petroleum levy, with Rehman warning that the protest could change its objective to oust the government if it failed to accept the demand.

The march reached Sukkur on Sunday night by Rehman Baba Express, from where it was to head towards Multan via Shalimar Express. However, there was a four-hour delay in the train’s expected arrival at Sukkur on Monday, which the JI chief questioned at a press conference there.

“Does this delay have anything to do with our train march? Shalimar Express, which is not only a popular train but has been privatised, is delayed by four hours today,” he said.

“If this delay in its [Shalimar Express] is a usual delay, then the federal government should explain the performance of Pakistan Railways,” Rehman said.

He added that if a delay of four to five hours and its impact on the entire railway system were normal, then the government’s performance was for everyone to see.

Shalimar Express finally departed the Rohri station at around 5:45pm, with the JI chief set to address supporters upon reaching Multan. From there, the party plans to march by road towards Islamabad.

In a video clip shared by JI, wherein Rehman could be seen travelling in a train, the party chief said the “first phase” of the march had concluded, and the second had begun with the journey to Multan.

He said that marches had also departed from Balochistan and Bab-i-Khyber.

According to an official at Karachi’s chief controller office, Shalimar Express reached Karachi late, at 7:20am, thereby delaying its departure back to Hyderabad. The official attributed the late arrival to a fault in the engine developed in Sanghar district’s Tando Adam.

Consequently, it reached Hyderabad at 1:25pm rather than the usual arrival time of 9:20am, delaying its arrival at Sukkur’s Rohri railway station, where Rehman’s caravan was waiting for it.

A statement by the Pakistan Railways’ Karachi division said that delays were expected in the departure of a few up trains “due to delays in the arrivals of several down trains”.

Addressing the media in Sukkur earlier in the day, Rehman asserted it was time Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif put his foot down and withdrew the petroleum levy to provide “much-needed relief” to people.

The JI chief again termed the relief provided under the government’s scheme as insufficient, demanding that the petrol price be reduced.

“The government has earmarked Rs26 billion per month in this head for offering subsidised fuel to motorcyclists. We feel that even this Rs26bn will not be utilised because not all the motorbikes are registered, whereas the government is recovering Rs150bn in terms of petroleum levy per month from people,” he added.

Rehman also criticised the PPP, saying that while it claimed to support the JI’s campaign against the federal government, obstacles were allegedly being placed in the way of the train march and people seeking to welcome it.