KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi on Sunday took out a march against massive hike in petroleum and oil products - propelling the petrol and edible oil prices to an all time high in the history of Pakistan.
A large number of people from all walks of life participated in the march from Baitulmukaram Mosque to Hassan Square. The participants, carrying placards and banners, chanted slogans against the government and its policies.
The protest march was taken out in response to the appeal of JI Pakistan Ameer Sirajul Haq. On the occasion, a symbolic sit-in for a brief period of time was also held. Addressing the rally, Engr Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said that a gang of thugs - comprising of sugar and flour mafia - was ruling over the country.
He said that the gang of thugs was ruining the country while Prime Minister Imran Khan says the regime was eliminating corruption. He asked the prime minister to justify the skyrocketing inflation when the premier himself has said that the indicators of the economy have improved and the exports have increased.
The JI leader said that the government has been hitting hard the masses but taxation against influential and corrupt elements was waved off in the name of plea-bargain. The government has received Rs8.1 trillion from Karachi during the last three years but in response the same regime bestowed 80 busses for the transport sector of the city which was tantamount to peanuts given the depth of the issue.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that the rulers refer to the nearby countries, including India and Bangladesh. He added that the top class universities in India charge Rs300 per year for professional education while the same level of universities charge one and half million rupees at least for professional education.
He said that the ruling regime asks the masses to reduce their food but they themselves were hell bent to quench their never ending appetite for corruption.
The JI leader further said that the ruling regime has been tightening the noose in the neck of poor masses instead of the corrupt elements. Petroleum prices have been raised without any logic, he said, adding that the price of petrol has been floating at around $80 per barrel.
He added that the government only uses the pretext of international fuel prices because it doesn't follow the same when the prices in the open market adopt a downward trend.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said that unfortunately no other political force in the country came forward against the recent hike in inflation.
JI leaders Abdul Razzaq Khan, Younous Barai and religious cleric Allama Athar Mashadi also addressed the rally.
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