JI Emir Announces Preparations for Islamabad Long March

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has warned that the JI will launch a long march to Islamabad if the government refuses to abolish the petroleum levy and other taxes on fuel, saying there is little point in meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif without a clear commitment to end the charges.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration of Sheikh Saadi School in New Karachi, he said the third phase of JI’s campaign against the petroleum levy had begun and preparations were underway for the Islamabad march.

Rehman said federal ministers had contacted JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch, and discussions were underway for a meeting between the JI chief and the prime minister. However, he said the meeting would serve no purpose unless the government agreed to abolish the Rs80-per-litre petroleum levy, the Rs5-per-litre Climate Support Levy and other taxes.

“If these unjust charges are not withdrawn, there is no point in meeting the prime minister. The next round of talks will take place on the streets,” he said, adding that convoys from across the country would converge on Islamabad.

He stressed that JI was fighting for public relief rather than personal gains and said no one would be able to stop the march.

Criticising the government over rising inflation, the JI chief said people were struggling with soaring living costs while the government continued collecting extortionate tax in the name of the petroleum levy. He also criticised payments to independent power producers (IPPs), saying billions of rupees were being paid to them even when they did not generate electricity.

The JI leader cited the price of flour in Karachi, where he said a 20kg bag was selling for Rs2,000. He criticised the government's plan to import wheat, saying it was shameful for an agricultural country like Pakistan to rely on imported grain.

He said the government policies destroyed the agriculture sector, holding the PML-N government in Punjab particularly responsible for its decline. He also criticised a pattern of exporting agricultural produce and later importing it for profit.

Turning to Sindh, the JI Emir said the PPP, which has governed the province for the past 18 years, ruined Karachi and was exploiting its resources.

He challenged PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to name a public school or hospital in Sindh where members of his own family would choose to study or receive medical treatment.

He said that land grabbing and the influence of the land mafia had become rampant in Karachi, while residents continued to face shortages of basic facilities. He said the provincial government was withholding development funds and powers from JI-led town administrations.

Despite these constraints, he said, JI's town chairmen were trying to provide public services using their limited resources. He cited Sheikh Saadi School as an example of their efforts.

Rehman said JI would hold protests against the petroleum levy across the country and announce the date for its Islamabad long march after the demonstrations.

JI Secretary General for Sindh and local town chairman Muhammad Yousuf was also present on the occasion.