Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced a major march to Islamabad on September 20 against the Petroleum Development Levy. He warned that the party’s protest movement will enter a decisive phase if the government does not remove the charge.
Speaking at a rally in Gujranwala on Friday, Rehman said JI workers and supporters will travel to the capital in caravans from every part of the country. He told the government to listen to public anger and take action immediately.
“If the petroleum levy is still in place when the long march begins, the people will decide the matter on the streets of Islamabad,” Rehman declared. He further warned that if the authorities ignore public demands, JI will start a full campaign to bring down the government.
At present the federal government collects Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. Rehman claimed the government has already taken Rs1,567 billion from the public through this levy and called it an unfair burden.
The announcement came while JI sit-ins against the levy continued for the 27th day in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and many other cities. Rehman said the protests will now be expanded further. He also announced that he will address a women’s gathering in Islamabad on Saturday.
Earlier, he held a meeting of JI leaders from across Pakistan at Mansoorah in Lahore to plan the next stage of the campaign. Rehman presented JI as a rising force and a source of hope for people tired of successive governments.
He accused the bureaucracy, feudal landlords and powerful families of controlling the political and economic system. Ordinary workers, he said, continue to suffer while children are forced into labour and denied education.
The JI chief also criticised the Punjab government over violence against women. He claimed around 6,500 cases were registered in the province but very few convictions took place. He challenged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to submit a full account of her income and expenses to the Federal Board of Revenue.
Rehman also blamed the Sharif and Zardari families for the hardships faced by the poor and claimed that more than 40 percent of Punjab’s population lives in poverty.
He demanded an end to interest-based banking, citing a Federal Shariat Court ruling, and said even a partial cut in interest payments could save the country thousands of billions of rupees.
Rehman stated that JI raised all these issues in talks with the government but received no satisfactory reply. He concluded that if the rulers cannot answer the people’s questions, the people will now demand those answers themselves on the streets
