KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) sit-in outside the Governor’s House against the petroleum levy and “anti-people” agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs) entered its second day on Monday, with a large number of women joining the protest.
Led byKarachi JI women’s wing chief Jawadan Faheem, the women protesters reached the venue carrying party flags, banners and placards demanding abolition of the petroleum levy and cancellation of the IPP agreements.
Addressing the protesters, JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar said the party’s demands were clear: the petroleum levy should be abolished and agreements with IPPs cancelled.
“The JI will continue to pursue the rulers and will not let them escape,” he said, adding that the party’s struggle would continue.
Monem Zafar said Rs1,566 billion had been collected from citizens through the petroleum levy during the last financial year. He said the burden was being borne by media workers, labourers, motorcyclists, food-delivery riders and the middle class.
“It is a matter of shame for the rulers that they are collecting more than Rs80 per litre as petroleum levy alone,” he said.
He criticized the government spending, saying an “aircraft worth Rs11 billion has been purchased for Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and a vehicle costing Rs90 million for the Senate chairman”.
The JI leader said that 7.8 million children in Sindh were out of school and accused those in power of being unwilling to provide citizens with their basic rights.
“The fact that mothers, sisters and children are being forced to leave their homes and sit on roads is enough to gauge the extent of inflation and unemployment,” he said.
He also highlighted the difficulties faced by women working in factories, saying they often worked 10-hour shifts without receiving their legitimate rights.
Sindh Assembly member of JI, Mohammad Farooq, Karachi secretary Taufiquddin Siddiqui and Faheem also addressed the gathering.
Farooq said the rulers should be ashamed that women had been forced to sit outside the Governor House against what he called an unjust levy.
He said the sit-in was directed against the federal government, but the issue was also causing unease in the provincial assembly.
He demanded a reduction in petrol prices and abolition of the petroleum levy, besides a reduction in food prices. “If the rulers cannot accept the legitimate demands of the people, they should step down,” he said.
Jawadan Faheem said Karachi’s women had been forced to stage a sit-in outside the Governor’s House because of the “incompetence” of the rulers. She said the government was shifting the entire burden of its extravagance onto ordinary citizens.
“It seems that soon a tax will also be imposed on breathing,” she said, adding that women would continue participating in the protest until petrol was brought down to Rs225 per litre. According to her, the government could run the country at that price without imposing what she called a “bhatta tax” on citizens.
The JI said a students’ session would be held on Tuesday, the third day of the sit-in, followed by a women’s session on Wednesday, August 19, which would be attended by women from across Karachi.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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