LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday accused the government of burdening consumers through excessive petroleum levies and failing to pass on the benefit of lower international oil prices, while announcing a nationwide protest campaign against inflation, high utility bills and what he termed anti-people economic policies.
Addressing protesters in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said the government had increased fuel prices during the recent Iran-US war by citing higher international oil prices but did not reduce them after global petroleum prices declined following the ceasefire.
He alleged that the government was collecting Rs 80 per liter in petroleum levy and claimed that it had already collected around Rs 8.5 trillion under the head of levies.
He said despite collecting billions of rupees, the government had failed to improve the country’s refineries, adding that the burden of high fuel prices, electricity tariffs and gas bills continued to fall on ordinary citizens.
The Jamaat-e-Islami chief said the public was facing severe economic hardship, with farmers, labourers and other segments of society struggling under rising living costs. He alleged that government policies were pushing people towards corruption and accused the ruling elite of being involved in corrupt practices.
Hafiz Naeem maintained that Jamaat-e-Islami was the only political party raising the voice of the people and described it as a party representing the common man. He said the party would continue its struggle against policies that, in his view, threatened the future of country’s youth.
Announcing the next phase of the party’s campaign, he said Jamaat-e-Islami would soon hold protests in small and large cities across the country and expressed confidence that public pressure would force the government to change its policies.
In his address, Hafiz Naeem also criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying if the people made independent decisions, the premier would have “nowhere to run.” Referring to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, he remarked that “Hasina Wajed fled her country; we will not allow you to flee.”
The Jamaat-e-Islami chief reiterated that his party would continue its movement against inflation, high fuel prices and rising electricity and gas tariffs.
Rehman further accused the federal and Punjab governments of spending billions of rupees of taxpayers’ money on publicity campaigns while burdening the poor with excessive taxes, high electricity tariffs and rising living costs. He alleged that the taxes paid by the country’s youth were being used to finance Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s publicity campaign, claiming that the rulers had purchased an aircraft worth Rs11 billion while ordinary people struggled under inflation. He also alleged that the Senate chairman had bought a vehicle worth Rs90 million and criticised the bureaucracy for using expensive official vehicles.
Criticising the power sector, Hafiz Naeem claimed that an “IPP mafia” had been imposed on the public, alleging that successive governments had signed unfair agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which were being paid even for electricity they did not generate. Turning to education, he said Pakistan, including Punjab, lacked a quality education system, claiming that more than 10 million children in Punjab were out of school and accusing the provincial government of outsourcing schools instead of improving them. He further alleged that separate education systems existed for the poor, middle class and wealthy, claimed that Lahore lacked proper public transport on 17 roads except rickshaws, urged Maryam Nawaz to stop “deceiving the public” and instead provide essential public services, and announced that Jamaat-e-Islami’s Majlis-e-Shura would take important decisions at its meeting on Saturday.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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