No End to Protests Until Levy Is Scrapped: Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman

BATKHELA/TIMERGARA, Sept 13: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has rejected the Prime Minister’s relief package on petrol as inadequate, warning that the JI’s nationwide sit-ins and planned Islamabad march would continue until the petroleum levy was completely abolished.

Addressing large public gatherings in Batkhela and Timergara on the 29th day of JI’s protest against the levy, Rehman said the government could prevent the September 20 Islamabad march only by immediately abolishing the extortionary tax on petrol.

“Neither are we ending the sit-ins nor withdrawing the Islamabad march,” he said, adding that the government must provide complete relief to the people, cut its lavish expenditures and take steps to end the interest-based financial system.

He warned the government against creating obstacles to the peaceful and democratic movement. “If the rulers do not listen to the people at the negotiating table, decisions will be made on the streets through protest and their encirclement,” he said.

JI provincial emir Inayatullah Khan and Malakand emir Shahab Hussain also addressed the gatherings.

Thousands of protesters at sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and around 40 other locations watched JI Emir’s speech live on large screens as the public participation in the protests is increasing with every passing day.

The JI leader thanked opposition leaders and workers of various political parties for supporting the campaign.

“This struggle is not for any political interest but for the people,” he said, urging JI workers to reach out to people in streets, neighbourhoods and markets and explain the party’s position on the petroleum levy.

He said JI’s campaign had brought the issue into the centre of public and media debate and made people aware that the petroleum levy was not directly linked to the actual price of petrol. He said the government was using taxes on petrol, electricity and gas to cover revenue shortfalls and added that corruption and poor performance of the Federal Board of Revenue were ultimately being passed on to consumers.

The JI chief also criticised the government over the Climate Support Levy, questioning how billions of rupees collected under the levy had been spent. He said the government should explain what measures had been taken to protect people from climate-related disasters.

Rehman called for an end to the interest-based financial system, saying that a three-percentage-point reduction in interest rates could generate significant savings for the national treasury and help bring down petrol prices.

He also criticised the lavish lifestyle of the ruling elite while ordinary Pakistanis struggled with high petrol, electricity and other costs. Referring to the purchase of an aircraft costing Rs11 billion by Maryam Nawaz, he said people could not accept public money being spent on the luxuries of rulers.

He said powerful interest groups in the flour, sugar, banking, IPP, refinery and oil-marketing sectors were exploiting consumers in collusion with government officials.

Rehman said JI would intensify its campaign against such groups. He warned that if the government placed containers to block the September 20 march, protesters would find alternative routes to Islamabad.

“Every caravan will head towards Islamabad on September 20,” he said, urging workers, students, labourers, farmers and ordinary citizens to prepare for the march.