Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, on Friday, criticising rising inflation and fuel price hikes, had announced the start of a nationwide protest movement against government policies.
He was addressing a mass rally of Jamaat-e-Islami gathered at Aabpara Chowk on Friday.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the large turnout had disproved claims that people would not protest over rising fuel and electricity prices.
“Today marks the beginning of our major movement,” he told supporters, accusing the government of implementing anti-public measures and warning that wider protests would follow if policies were not changed.
Protesters chanted slogans against the government and demanded an immediate reduction in petrol prices.
Hafiz Naeem criticised the heavy taxation on fuel, claiming that petrol prices included Rs120 per litre in levy charges and another Rs50 in taxes.
He alleged that Pakistan’s rulers were acting under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and accused successive governments of strengthening what he described as the “IPP mafia.”
He claimed billions of rupees collected from the public were benefiting only a few influential groups.
The Jamaat-e-Islami leader also criticised the governments of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party over energy policies and economic conditions.
Referring to rising fuel costs, he said motorcycle riders, most of whom belong to lower-income groups, were being heavily burdened through taxes and levies.
Hafiz Naeem announced that the party would file a petition in the constitutional court on May 18 challenging the petroleum levy.
He said the agriculture sector had been “ruined” and accused powerful groups of benefiting at the expense of the public, alleging that sugar mills owned by influential interests were profiting while consumers suffered higher prices.
Hafiz Naeem vowed resistance against what he described as an “oppressive system” and said the country could no longer function under what he called unjust governance structures.
He announced that he would visit Chitral and Lower Dir in the coming days, and later travel to Balochistan on May 22 as part of the protest campaign.
He also warned of a nationwide strike and shutdown call, saying markets across the country would be closed if the government failed to reverse its policies.
