LAHORE: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman has said there is no point in meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unless the government agrees to abolish the petroleum levy (PL), warning that the JI will take its campaign to Islamabad if the public is denied relief.
Addressing a press conference at Mansoorah on Saturday he said the date for the Islamabad long march would be announced after consultations on October 12.
JI vice Emir Liaqat Baloch, Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmad Janjua, Central Punjab Emir Javed Kasuri, ILM president Asad Manzoor Butt and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present at the press conference.
Rehman said JI had staged sit-ins for 42 days against the petroleum levy and was continuing its nationwide public meetings and signature campaign. The party would hold a public meeting in Okara on Sunday as part of its campaign. The issue, he said, would ultimately be decided on the streets.
He said government ministers were issuing statements indicating that the levy would not be abolished. “We want to make it clear to the prime minister that if the petroleum levy is not abolished, we have no desire to meet him,” he said, adding that the party’s peaceful approach should not be mistaken for weakness.
The JI leader demanded an end to the petroleum levy and meaningful relief for consumers, arguing that a gradual reduction in interest rates could save the national exchequer thousands of billions of rupees. He also called for increased refinery capacity and urged the government to benefit from Saudi Arabia’s reported USD5-per-barrel reduction in oil prices for Asian countries.
The JI emir criticised the government’s argument that it was under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), asking whether the same pressure applied when rulers spent public money on luxuries. Referring to the Punjab government’s purchase of an aircraft worth Rs11 billion, he questioned the priorities of the ruling elite while ordinary people struggled with rising living costs.
Rehman criticised the PPP, saying that it had secured the Karachi mayor’s position with the establishment’s support despite losing public backing in the city. He rejected Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s assertion that the party enjoyed a popular mandate in Karachi.
Turning to Punjab, he said the province had suffered under four decades of rule by the Sharif family, particularly in education and agriculture. He cited the failure of more than half of ninth-grade students in provincial examinations and said that the Punjab government had sold 11,000 schools, with another 25,000 reportedly listed for sale.
He also criticised rising agricultural input costs, saying the price of a 50-kilogram bag of DAP fertiliser had increased by Rs 3,000. Farmers had received Rs 3,000 per maund for wheat, he said, while flour prices in Punjab had risen above Rs 6,000 per maund and wheat prices had crossed Rs 5,000 per maund.
Citing poverty estimates, Rehman said the World Bank had put Pakistan’s poverty rate at 23 per cent, the highest in the region, while poverty exceeded 40 per cent under the country’s own measurement criteria. He said Punjab had recorded the largest increase in poverty over the past five years, adding Maryam Nawaz was relying on advertisements to promote her government’s performance.
Responding to journalists’ questions, he called for Iran’s inclusion in the defence agreement involving Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, saying it should not be used against any Islamic country. He urged all stakeholders to hold consultation and develop a strategy to end terrorism in the country.
Rehman said political parties largely pursued their own interests rather than those of the public, adding that JI’s campaign had brought public concerns to the centre of political debate. He urged party workers to prepare for the next phase of the movement, warning that JI would march on Islamabad if the government failed to provide relief.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026