LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has announced the third phase of its nationwide protest campaign against the petroleum levy, with sit-ins planned in every district on Friday.
The decision was taken on the instructions of party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who has demanded the complete withdrawal of the levy, arguing that the government should provide relief to people struggling with rising fuel costs.
The federal government currently collects Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. JI has been campaigning for the abolition of the petroleum levy, maintaining that its removal would help reduce the financial burden on consumers.
The latest protests follow an agreement reached between the government and JI on September 3 to establish committees tasked with examining proposals to reduce the levy and provide relief to the public. However, the party says no substantial progress has been made towards meeting its central demand.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, JI said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s adviser on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, had contacted the party’s vice emir, Liaqat Baloch, to convey the premier’s request for a meeting with Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.
According to the statement, both sides had agreed that their respective committees would coordinate and finalise a schedule for the proposed meeting. The party, however, said the government had not made further contact to advance the process.
JI reiterated that any meeting between its chief and the prime minister must focus on the complete abolition of the petroleum levy. It warned that continued delays and the failure to provide relief would lead to intensified street protests across the country.
The party also made it clear that its campaign would continue until the government accepted its demand.
JI began its protest drive against the levy in August, announcing sit-ins in provincial capitals on August 16. It subsequently called for a nationwide strike on September 3.
On September 20, the party launched a protest march towards Islamabad and warned that its movement could escalate into a campaign to remove the government if the petroleum levy was not abolished.
The planned Friday demonstrations mark another phase of the party’s pressure campaign as it seeks to force the government to withdraw the levy and ease the burden of fuel costs on the public.
