KARACHI: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) sit-in outside the Sindh Governor House against the petroleum levy and what it calls anti-people independent power producer (IPP) agreements entered its 27th day on Friday, with JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar vowing to continue the struggle until its demands are met.
Addressing the protesters, he said the issue affected all 250 million Pakistanis and urged the government to “give the people the right to live” by abolishing the petroleum levy. “JI’s protests began in four provincial capitals and are now continuing in 30 cities. We are currently implementing Plan A.
As soon as Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announces Plan B, we will implement that too,” he said that the government was collecting Rs133 per litre in levy and other taxes, adding that the levy had no link with global petrol prices, regardless of the war situation.
Former federal finance minister and Pakistan Awami Party General Secretary Miftah Ismail also joined the sit-in and endorsed the protesters’ demands. He said the government was charging Rs85 per litre as levy and Rs131 per litre in total, including other taxes and margins. More than 60 percent of motorcycles in Pakistan run on petrol, he said, adding that the government should not take advantage of people’s dependence on fuel.
“Imposing the levy tax will increase poverty and interest rates,” Ismail said, stressing that its abolition would cause no harm to the economy. He said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had allowed the purchase of an Rs11 billion aircraft and bullet proof vehicles but had not allowed tax cuts for salaried people.
According to Ismail, Rs700 billion had been collected from the salaried class, while only Rs10 billion was taken from landlords and the land mafia despite IMF recommendations.
The government collected Rs1,567 billion through the levy and had set a target of Rs1,660 billion for next year, he added. Referring to elite spending, he said Maryam Nawaz paid Rs3.5 million to park a plane in London for three days, while President Asif Ali Zardari paid Rs5.5 million.
“Let Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari make a monthly budget for an ordinary household in Rs43,000,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, a torch-bearing rally led by Monem Zafar and JI South District chief Sufyan Dilawar marched from Burns Road to the Governor House. JI workers arrested during the September 3 shutter-down strike in Korangi joined the sit-in after their release. Monem Zafar welcomed and garlanded them. Korangi District chief Mirza Farhan Baig and Tahir Malik Advocate were also present.
General Secretary of the Karachi Press Club Muhammad Aslam Khan led members of its governing body and senior journalists to the protest. Monem Zafar thanked Karachi’s traders, lawyers, students and industrialists for supporting the movement.
He alleged that Rs1,100 billion in corruption was taking place under the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) nose, while officials were being given civil awards. JI West District chief Maulana Mudassir Hussain Ansari also raised the issue of street crime, citing the killing of 16-year-old Roshan Hussain Khan in Manghopir. He said the victim’s parents had alleged that two attackers were wearing police uniforms and added that the JI stood with the family.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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