No Retreat From Long March Until Levy Is Abolished: Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman

Islamabad: Sep 23: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said the JI will not give up its right to march on Islamabad until the petroleum levy is abolished, warning that its protest campaign will be expanded if the government fails to provide relief.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, Rehman said the long march had been paused for a few days at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request. He said he would meet the prime minister after his return to Pakistan and that JI’s next course of action would depend on the outcome of that meeting.

“The better option is to abolish the petroleum levy. Otherwise, people will come out to seek the removal of the government,” he said.

JI has been staging sit-ins and protests against the petroleum levy since August. The party launched road blockades at 510 locations before starting sit-ins at 42 locations across the country on August 16. The campaign later expanded into a train march towards Islamabad. The long march was subsequently paused following a telephone conversation between Hafiz Naeem and the prime minister.

Rehman said JI would continue its protests during the pause and hold public meetings, including in Lahore and other cities. He said the party had held several rounds of negotiations with the government and presented workable proposals, but the government had not given a convincing response.

He said reducing the interest rate by three percentage points could save the national exchequer more than Rs1.5 trillion and called for cuts in government privileges and expenditures. He also demanded taxes on large landowners, an end to capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs) and action against corruption in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

The JI emir also rejected the government’s argument that the petroleum levy was necessary because of International Monetary Fund (IMF) requirements. He said the IMF agreement did not specifically require Pakistan to meet revenue targets through the petroleum levy, while arguing that the government should instead reduce its expenditures and broaden taxation.

JI had earlier held talks with government representatives over reducing the levy. On September 3, both sides agreed to constitute expert committees to examine measures for reducing the levy and providing relief to consumers.

Rehman said consumers were paying about Rs140 per litre in taxes on petrol and described the burden as unacceptable. He also criticised the government for borrowing heavily from private banks and paying billions of rupees in interest, linking the issue to unfair economic system.

He said major political parties failed to raise public issues and said JI’s campaign was aimed at challenging mafias operating in different sectors.

He said JI would continue its political and constitutional struggle and would not be deterred by criticism. He also reiterated his view that PTI founder Imran Khan was a political prisoner and said his party believed PTI workers were being subjected to injustice.

JI Vice Emir Mian Muhammad Aslam, Deputy Secretary Syed Farasat Shah, Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa, acting JI North Punjab Emir Iqbal Khan and Rawalpindi Emir Arif Shirazi were also present at the press conference.