KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Friday staged citywide protests against the huge petroleum levy and frequent increases in fuel oil prices, blocking Shahrah-e-Faisal and other roads.
The main rally in Karachi was led by JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar. It started from Mazar-e-Quaid, moved along Shahrah-i-Quaideen and ended with a sit-in on Shahrah-e-Faisal, where protesters blocked both tracks of the road. Organisers; however, kept one lane open for ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
Earlier in the evening, demonstrations and sit-ins were also held on the National Highway, Superhighway, Hub River Road, Shahrah-i-Orangi, Shahrah-i-Korangi and Shahrah-i-Pakistan.
Addressing the gathering at Shahrah-e-Faisal, Monem Zafar said the protests held across Karachi and throughout the country reflected widespread public opposition to the government’s economic policies.
He said the government had placed an unfair financial burden on the people through the petroleum levy and repeated fuel price increases. He called on the authorities to abolish the levy, reduce petroleum prices and end what he described as preferential treatment for the IPP sector.
Zafar also criticised the country’s political and economic situation, saying that ordinary citizens continued to suffer from inflation and unemployment while the political elite enjoyed privileges. He said Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its peaceful campaign against inflation, unemployment and what it called anti-people economic policies.
Opposition Leader in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Saifuddin Advocate, JI Karachi Secretary Toufiquddin Siddiqui, Sindh Assembly member Muhammad Farooq and JI Deputy Secretary Abdul Razzaq Khan also spoke.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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