Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced a nationwide blockade of major highways on Aug. 7 to protest against inflation, the petroleum development levy and rising fuel prices, warning any attempt to stop the peaceful protest can transform it into an anti-government movement.
Addressing a press conference at the JI’s headquarters in Lahore, he said the party would organize corner meetings, sit-ins and a countrywide mobilization ahead of the Aug. 7 call, maintaining all citizens, including traders, industrialists, lawyers, students, religious scholars and youth, would join the protest.
According to Rehman, while all major roads nationwide would be blocked on Aug. 7, ambulances would be allowed to pass without hindrance.
Referring to the recent hike in petroleum prices, he claimed the government was using the war as pretext to raise fuel prices, adding if the petroleum levy and other taxes were abolished, the retail price of petrol would not exceed Rs. 250/liter. He claimed the government was collecting around Rs. 1.8 trillion annually through the levy, burdening motorcyclists, laborers and the middle class.
Describing the levy as “economic terrorism,” the JI chief said the government was collecting taxes even from people outside the formal tax net through indirect taxation.
Rehman asserted that the JI was not opposed to the defense budget, but criticized privileges accorded to judges, senior military officers, bureaucrats, lawmakers and other public officials. He alleged the ruling elite was benefiting from state-funded privileges while ordinary citizens were struggling.
During his press talk, the JI chief also criticized the Punjab government’s health and education policies, alleging basic health units and public schools were being sold and renamed to “mislead” the public. He further claimed poverty had increased in Punjab under the current administration.
He also questioned loadshedding in the country despite installed capacity, alleging consumers were paying for electricity that was not being produced.
Expressing concern over the security situation in Balochistan, he said the government could not evade responsibility by simply blaming foreign elements. If external actors were involved, he said, it was the state’s responsibility to stop them. He said the Balochistan issue required dialogue and consultations with all stakeholders, announcing the JI would convene a grand national conference to discuss a long-term solution. He also called for resolving political issues in Azad Jammu and Kashmir through dialogue and constitutional means.