JI Emir Draws Line: Scrap Levy or Face Islamabad March

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that JI will begin its march towards Islamabad if the government fails to abolish the petroleum levy.

Addressing a public gathering in Hyderabad on Wednesday, held on the 39th day of the ongoing sit-in against the levy, Rehman said the government could face a wider movement if public anger continued to grow.

“If the prime minister does not abolish the petroleum levy, the Islamabad march will begin,” he said, adding that the movement could eventually go beyond the levy issue and turn into a campaign to bring down the government if the people were pushed to the limit.

He the ruling elite was enjoying state resources while burdening ordinary citizens with rising taxes, electricity bills and fuel prices. “The rulers cannot continue to enjoy luxuries while squeezing the blood out of the people,” he said, adding that “this double standard will no longer work.”

He announced a schedule for Jamaat-e-Islami’s nationwide public meetings and directed party workers to intensify the signature campaign against Independent Power Producers (IPPs), expensive flour, the petroleum levy and inflation.

He said the party had succeeded in creating public awareness about the petroleum levy and had earlier also highlighted the issue of IPPs. He praised workers participating in prolonged sit-ins across the country, particularly those in Hyderabad, and acknowledged the role of women in the campaign.

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the government still had an opportunity to end the protest by abolishing the levy. “If the levy is abolished, we will turn the ongoing public meetings into rallies of gratitude, including one in Islamabad,” he said.

Criticising the political system, he said that the country was being controlled by influential groups and mafias that protected their own interests while ordinary people remained deprived of basic services.

He said the rulers spent billions on luxury vehicles and aircraft while consumers were being charged around Rs125 in taxes and levies on every litre of petrol. He also criticised payments to IPPs, electricity theft, high power bills and tax exemptions enjoyed by wealthy landowners.

The JI Emir also targeted the PPP and MQM, saying they were partners in loot and plunder. He said the PPP had ruled Sindh for 18 years but failed to improve the province.

He said 7.3 million children were out of school in Sindh and more than 12.5 million in Punjab, while major Sindh cities had been turned into garbage dumps.

He also criticised the Sharif family’s governance in Punjab, saying that education, health and agriculture had suffered under its rule.

Rehman said people across all four provinces were suffering from inflation, insecurity and an outdated political system. He pledged that JI would continue its campaign with public support to bring about fundamental political change.

Central Deputy Secretary Mumtaz Hussain Sahito, Sindh JI Emir Kashif Saeed Sheikh, provincial General Secretary Muhammad Yousuf and Hyderabad JI Amir Hafiz Tahir Majeed also addressed the gathering.