Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Announces Nationwide Road Blockades at 510 Locations Over Fuel Prices
ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced that the party will stage peaceful sit-ins and road blockades at 510 locations across the country on Friday as part of its protest against rising fuel prices, inflation, and the petroleum levy.
Addressing a demonstration organized by the Jamaat-e-Islami Women’s Wing on Wahdat Road, he said the public could no longer bear the economic burden and demanded that the price of petrol be reduced to Rs225 per litre.
Hafiz Naeem said the protests would begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, with major highways and roads across Pakistan to be blocked. He stated that ambulance services would be allowed to pass, emphasizing that the demonstrations would remain peaceful.
He warned that if authorities attempted to stop the protests or create obstacles, the movement could expand beyond opposition to the petroleum levy into a broader campaign against the government.
Criticizing the petroleum levy, Hafiz Naeem described it as an unjust financial burden on the public, claiming that consumers are paying Rs125 in taxes on every litre of petrol. He argued that instead of reducing government expenditures, the authorities have shifted the financial burden onto ordinary citizens while continuing lavish spending.
He also questioned the government’s fuel pricing policy, saying petroleum prices had been increased during regional conflicts on the grounds of higher global oil prices but had not been reduced proportionately after international crude oil prices declined. He alleged that approximately Rs8 trillion had been collected through the petroleum levy without significant investment in oil refineries or petroleum infrastructure.
The Jamaat-e-Islami chief said abolishing the petroleum levy would help improve the country’s economy and ease inflationary pressures.
Hafiz Naeem further criticized the government’s economic policies, accusing the ruling leadership of ignoring the hardships faced by ordinary citizens. He said rising inflation has made it increasingly difficult for families, particularly women managing household expenses, to cope with the cost of living.
He also expressed concern over what he described as growing economic inequality, administrative inefficiency, and restrictions on public dissent, arguing that the country’s governance system requires fundamental reforms.
Accusing the government of following policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said authorities have failed to reduce their own expenditures while continuing to impose new taxes on the public.
Calling on supporters to participate in the demonstrations, Hafiz Naeem urged young people to bring their motorcycles to the protests and said major highways, including routes in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, would be blocked as part of the nationwide campaign. He reiterated that all protests would remain peaceful.
