JI Emir Sets 20m-Signature Target, Announces Lahore Rally Against Levy

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced a public rally in Lahore on Friday against the petroleum levy and said the party will launch a nationwide signature campaign with a target of collecting 20 million signatures.

Addressing a nationwide gathering of JI workers online from Mansoorah on Thursday, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the JI would resume its march towards Islamabad from Multan if talks with the government following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s return failed to provide meaningful relief to the public.

JI Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmad Janjua also addressed the workers’ gathering.

Rehman said the JI leadership had postponed the Islamabad long march after consultation, a decision that had been welcomed by JI workers as well as various sections of society. He said analysts, columnists and other prominent people had also appreciated the decision, although some had criticised it.

“Jamaat-e-Islami does not fear criticism,” he said, adding that the party would continue its struggle for public rights with perseverance.

The JI emir praised workers, particularly women and elderly participants, for their sustained participation in the prolonged sit-ins. He urged JI workers to continue mobilising people, saying the ultimate objective of the Islamic movement was to establish a system based on its principles.

Rehman said major political parties had failed to raise their voice for public issues because of the influence of various interest groups within them. He said that political elites and vested interests protected each other’s interests.

He said JI had launched a major campaign against independent power producers (IPPs), after which, according to the government’s own figures, negotiations with power distribution companies had resulted in a benefit of Rs4.5 trillion to the national exchequer.

He said JI had also launched its campaign against the petroleum levy by blocking roads at 510 locations, holding sit-ins in 42 cities for more than a month and organising a train march. The JI had now temporarily halted its Islamabad march following the prime minister’s promise of relief, he added.

“There were two marches heading towards Islamabad, and the government could have provoked a confrontation,” Rehman said.

He reiterated that the JI’s clear demand was the complete abolition of the petroleum levy and said the party had already rejected the relief package proposed by the prime minister. “We want clear and tangible relief from the government,” he said.

The JI emir said the party’s campaign had brought the petroleum levy into public debate across the country. He said media discussions about the levy had increased because of the party’s protests and credited JI workers for keeping the issue alive.

Rehman said JI would continue its struggle against a system dominated by powerful interest groups, including sugar, flour, medicine and IPP-related interests, as well as landlords, influential families and political groups.

He also criticised the country’s interest-based economic system, saying farmers, workers, young people and students were facing serious difficulties.

“We will continue our struggle against the entire system and those who protect it,” he said.