Petroleum Levy sit-in will continue until demands are met: JI
LAHORE: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Sunday said the JI’s sit-in against the petroleum levy and rising fuel prices would continue until the government accepted its demands, warning that any attempt to block the protest would turn it into a movement to bring down the government.
Addressing participants of the sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House on The Mall, Rehman described the petroleum levy as an “extortionist” and “jagga tax”, saying the government was increasing both the price of petrol and the taxes imposed on it.
He said the rulers should cut their own expenditures and privileges instead of extracting more money from ordinary citizens.
“Until the petroleum levy is abolished and our other demands are accepted, the sit-in will continue,” he said. “If the government tries to obstruct it, this sit-in will turn into a movement to bring down the government.”
Rehman also declared that the government’s proposed committee of ministers would not be accepted for negotiations. “We do not need a briefing from a government committee. Whoever wants to talk should come to the sit-in and talk to us,” he said, addressing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly. “We will not go to Islamabad to receive a briefing.”
The JI chief said the governance of Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had failed, adding that the ruling leadership had destroyed the entire system.
He said JI had entered the second phase of its mass campaign for public rights after staging protests at 510 locations across the country on Aug 7. He said major sit-ins had now begun outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar, while a large number of people had gathered at the historic protest site on The Mall in Lahore.
“This is an organised struggle by a genuine public party. Our fight is not against any political party; it is against injustice, inflation and anti-people policies,” Rehman said.
He said the government had made life increasingly difficult for ordinary families, with parents struggling to pay their children’s school fees and poor people being deprived of adequate healthcare. He also criticised the class-based division of education.
According to Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, the privileged classes were bleeding the people dry while rulers benefiting from state resources could not understand the hardships faced by ordinary citizens.
He said that the government was increasing petrol prices and taxes separately, resulting in people paying thousands of rupees every month in fuel-related taxes, including those who otherwise did not fall within the tax net.
Questioning the tax contribution of feudal politicians, he asked how many landlords belonging to the PML-N had paid taxes on their agricultural estates. He said that around Rs12 billion was collected annually from landlords and politicians compared with Rs700 billion extracted from ordinary citizens.
Rehman rejected the government’s justification that the petroleum levy was being imposed because of conditions attached to an IMF programme. He said the government should instead reduce its own expenditures and recover taxes from privileged sections of society. He reiterated JI’s demand that petrol be brought down to Rs225 per litre and that the petroleum levy be abolished.
The JI emir said people from different professions and social groups had become increasingly frustrated with government policies. He pointed to the participation of doctors, Lady Health Workers and other government employees in protests, saying their grievances reflected the broader public discontent.
He also criticised the Punjab government’s publicity spending, telling Maryam Nawaz to educate her ministers instead of using public money for publicity campaigns. He said that corruption had spread across both the provincial and federal governments.
Referring to the controversial political system, Rehman said the existing “Form 47” representatives did not enjoy public acceptance. He vowed that JI would continue its struggle to fundamentally change the system.
“We are fighting for the people and against oppression,” he said, adding that JI was not making demands that could not be implemented and had capable people who could run the country more effectively.
He said the protests outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar, along with demonstrations in other parts of the country, showed that people had taken to the streets to demand their rights.
“We have come here to get our demands accepted and will not retreat,” he said. “The sit-in will continue until the rulers back down, and our struggle will continue.”
The Lahore sit-in began after Asr prayers amid intense heat, with large crowds raising slogans against inflation, high petrol prices and the government. Participants carried JI flags and placards highlighting their demands. Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman received an enthusiastic welcome when he arrived at the protest venue.
The protest was attended and addressed by JI Deputy Emir Dr Osama Razi, Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmed Janjua, Central Punjab Emir Javed Kasuri, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari Advocate, Central Punjab Secretary General Babar Rashid, Lahore Deputy Emir Chaudhry Shaukat, Pakistan Kisan Board President Sardar Zafar Hussain Khan, Zikrullah Mujahid and other party leaders.
Also present were JI Deputy Secretaries Sheikh Usman Farooq and Azhar Iqbal Hassan, Special Assistant Umair Idrees, Social Media Head Salman Sheikh, Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi, Southern Punjab Emir Syed Zeeshan Akhtar, Gujranwala Emir Mazhar Iqbal Randhawa, Sialkot Emir Imtiaz Baryar, and Young Doctors Association Punjab President Shoaib Niazi, besides other leaders and activists.
The JI campaign is also continuing with sit-ins outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar, where large numbers of people are participating in protests against fuel price increases, the petroleum levy, independent power producer agreements, inflation and what it describes as excessive privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026