JI announces nationwide protests on July 10 against petroleum levy, rising fuel prices and inflation

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced nationwide protests on July 10 against the petroleum levy, rising fuel prices, inflation, and what he termed the government’s ineffective economic policies.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Rehman said the demonstrations would continue until the government provided meaningful relief to the public. JI Deputy Emir Liaqat Baloch, JI Central Punjab Emir Muhammad Javed Kasuri and Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari flanked Rehman during the presser.

The JI chief berated the government’s overall handling of the energy sector, claiming that although the official price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was fixed at Rs241 per kilogramme, it was being sold in the market for around Rs500/kg. He added that prolonged gas load-shedding and high LPG prices were an added burden on the consumers.

“Affordable gas is vital for economic growth,” he stressed.

Referring to the government’s recent reduction in petrol prices, the JI leader called the Rs1.97-per-litre relief “inadequate”.

He also described the Rs118-per-litre in compounded taxes and levies on petrol collected by the authorities as “extortion” and claimed that the government collected around Rs8.5 trillion, which was used to meet tax collection targets instead of improving energy supply infrastructure.

Rehman urged the public to stand up against what he described as an unjust system, asserting that the retail price of petrol should not exceed Rs225 per litre. He made a special appeal to the young people to participate in Friday’s nationwide protests.

The JI chief also challenged the collection of the climate support levy on petroleum products and asked where, according to him, approximately Rs60 billion collected under the levy had been spent.

He highlighted that the petroleum levy disproportionately affected low-income and middle-class citizens, including labourers, students and motorcycle users, while influential landowners continued to dodge taxation. He demanded the immediate abolition of the levy and reiterated that petrol prices should not exceed Rs225 per litre.

The JI chief further asserted that the government lacked a clear economic strategy and had failed to utilise the country’s natural resources “effectively”, while citing the suboptimal use of oil and mineral reserves as an example.

Criticising the delay in the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, he urged the government to restore trade with the neighbouring country to help meet Pakistan’s energy demands and claimed that Iran had already completed its share of the work.

Commenting on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Rehman alleged that the department was plagued by corruption amounting to trillions of rupees, and this burden of inefficiency was passed on to the public.

Food and Agriculture

While speaking on other issues of daily inconvenience, the JI leader said the price of naan was also inconsistent across different parts of the city. He added that wheat was purchased from farmers at Rs3,500 per maund while flour was being sold at around Rs5,600 per maund. The high cost of naan paid by the consumers did not benefit the farmers at all.

Sugar mills owned by politically influential groups had withheld Rs1.5 billion from sugarcane growers, Rehman alleged further.

He also turned down the government’s decision to export sugar, arguing that it would lead to higher sugar prices.

“Pakistan’s cotton cultivation has also declined to historic lows,” he lamented.

Rehman directly blamed the government for the deterioration of the agricultural sector, insisting that billions of rupees were being spent on advertising campaigns instead of addressing public issues.

Education, transport and welfare projects

Turning to education, the JI emir denounced the Punjab government’s decision to outsource 11,000 public schools. He said providing free and quality education was the constitutional responsibility of the government and argued that education should be treated as Pakistan’s foremost national priority.

“More than 10 million children in Punjab are out of school, and universities are not receiving adequate grants,” he underscored during the press briefing.

The JI leader also asked the government to construct an underground rail system in Lahore to improve urban transport.

Commenting on the government’s social welfare policies, he said the Benazir Income Support Programme had become “a source of corruption”. He questioned why the government chose to spend hundreds of billions of rupees on welfare programmes and not on information technology and vocational training infrastructure to enable young people to secure sustainable employment.

Political overview

Deliberating on the political situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, he stressed the need for dialogue.

“Several prime ministers have left office since elections, resulting in political instability,” he explained.

Discussing local government politics in Karachi, he alleged that JI’s electoral mandate for the mayor’s office was ignored, adding that repeated replacement of elected representatives led to public unease.

Reminiscing about last year’s war with India, Rehman said, “Pakistan gained international honour while India suffered embarrassment.”

The JI emir urged the government to strongly raise the issue of Indus River rights before the international community.

Concluding the press conference, the JI chief called on citizens to participate in the nationwide protests on Friday to coerce the government to undertake relief measures.