Jamaat-e-Islami Announces Nationwide Protests Against Fuel Price Hikes and Petroleum Levy
KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami has announced a nationwide protest campaign against the government’s fuel pricing policy and the continued increase in petroleum prices, arguing that the rising costs are placing an unbearable burden on citizens and businesses.
In a statement, the party’s Karachi chapter said it had decided to launch large-scale protests across the country against the daily revision of petroleum prices and what it described as excessive taxation through the petroleum levy.
According to the statement, Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Muneem Zafar Khan will announce details of the party’s protest plan for Karachi at a press conference scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on July 23 at Idara Noor-e-Haq. The statement also noted that Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has already announced nationwide protests and sit-ins on August 7.
The party said the continued increase in fuel prices is affecting all segments of society, including ordinary citizens, students, traders, industrialists and transport operators, while creating uncertainty in the economy and contributing to higher inflation.
Jamaat-e-Islami also claimed that business organizations, industrial associations and petroleum dealers have rejected the government’s pricing mechanism. It urged the government to abolish the daily fuel price adjustment system, withdraw the petroleum levy and fix the petrol price at Rs225 per litre to provide long-term relief to consumers.
