Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday reiterated a threat to expand the party’s ongoing sit-ins if its demands for cheaper fuel are not accepted, warning the next phase can include wheel-jam and shutter-down strikes, closure of petrol stations and a long march on Islamabad.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s sit-in on Lahore’s Mall Road, he alleged the government was using taxes and duties on fuel to make up for its own “incompetence, poor governance and failure to collect taxes.” He maintained the JI’s protest did not aim to achieve any political benefit but solely desired relief for the public from rampant inflation.
Slamming the petroleum levy, he noted the government was currently collecting over Rs. 105/liter in the form of taxes on petroleum products. Under this head, he claimed, the government had collected over Rs. 4 trillion, and questioned where this money had been spent.
Rehman also lashed out at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for failing to meet its tax targets and reiterated criticism of capacity payments for power companies. He claimed the party’s sit-ins had resulted in some reductions to petrol and diesel prices, but demanded greater transparency on the mechanism used to fix petroleum prices.
Referring to the government’s overtures to the JI, he said talks had not been ruled out and would commence in Islamabad on Monday (today). However, he warned, if the talks did not yield positive results, the party would launch the next phase of its protest movement.
During his address, the JI chief criticized government borrowing from banks, claiming banks received undue benefits. Similarly, he accused the government of failing to curb sugar pricing, noting sugar mill owners annually alternated between surplus and shortage claims while farmers did not receive fair compensation.