JI Sets Lahore Rally, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman to Make Key Announcement: Liaqat Baloch

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan will hold a major public rally in Lahore on Friday as part of its ongoing campaign against the petroleum levy, with JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman set to announce the next strategy for the planned “super long march” against the levy.

JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch said on Thursday that the JI’s nationwide protest campaign would continue and urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to begin talks on the petroleum levy immediately after returning to Pakistan.

“Delaying tactics will not be accepted. If the government does not respond, we will resume the march,” Baloch said while addressing a press conference at Mansoorah.

Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmad Janjua, JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, Central Punjab Emir Javed Kasuri and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present at the press conference.

Baloch said the JI had temporarily paused its Islamabad long march as part of its strategy, but had not abandoned its demand for the complete abolition of the petroleum levy. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman would make an important announcement regarding the next phase of the march at Friday’s Lahore rally.

Baloch said the government had attempted to create a confrontation between JI and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers but the plan had been foiled.

He also defended the right of political parties to stage peaceful protests in Islamabad, saying the federal capital was neither “Somnath” nor anyone’s personal property. Since parliament, the Supreme Court and other key state institutions are located there, he said, every political party had the right to protest.

He said JI supported PTI’s right to peaceful protest and condemned the arrests of its workers, particularly women. He also criticised the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing it as resembling governor’s rule and saying such a situation did not suit the federation.

Baloch said Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar had offered talks to the government. He urged the government to respond positively and form a committee for negotiations.

“Peaceful protest is the beauty and strength of democracy and politics,” he said.

On the petroleum levy, Baloch said fluctuations in international oil prices naturally affected Pakistan, but the levy of Rs107 per litre was unacceptable to the JI. He also rejected the government’s petrol relief package, saying it had failed to provide meaningful relief to ordinary people.

He said the JI had launched its organised campaign against the levy by blocking roads at 510 locations, similar to its earlier protests against independent power producers (IPPs). Sit-ins began about a month ago, followed by negotiations with a government committee formed by the prime minister.

During the talks, the JI presented six proposals that it said could enable the government to abolish the levy while generating revenue through other means.

Baloch said the government had not provided convincing arguments against the proposals. He added that the government committee later conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request that the JI postpone its long march.

The JI subsequently launched its train march from Karachi, while the prime minister also contacted Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and requested him to halt the march, he said.

Baloch said the JI Emir had made it clear that abolition of the petroleum levy remained the JI’s firm demand.