Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced on Friday that the party plans to arrive in Islamabad between September 23 and 24 as part of its intensified campaign against the petroleum levy. He urged the government to abolish the levy and halt further increases in petroleum prices.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, Rehman outlined that committees have been established to organize the party’s march on the federal capital. He confirmed that JI has formally requested government permission for the protest. The main objective, he emphasized, is to seek relief for the public, noting that while the government had acknowledged their demands during negotiations, it has yet to take concrete action.
Rehman highlighted the severe hardships caused by rising petroleum prices and criticized the government’s relief measures as inadequate. He also questioned the government’s economic management, condemning what he described as excessive public spending, including on aircraft.
The central demand of the JI remains the complete abolition of the petroleum levy, accompanied by an immediate halt to any further price increases.
JI’s nationwide protest campaign has been ongoing for over a month, with sit-ins and demonstrations held across the country. Initially concentrated in major cities, the protests have expanded to approximately 40 locations nationwide. Notably, the sit-in outside Sindh Governor House in Karachi had reached its 27th day by September 12.
Protests have spread beyond the four provincial capitals to around 30 cities, including significant gatherings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Batkhela and Timergara. Thousands participated in a sit-in in Batkhela, which lasted seven days as of September 14. JI, sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar had entered their 30th day earlier in the week, while protests continued at about 40 other sites.
The party has rejected the government’s fuel relief package, deeming it insufficient, and vowed to continue protests until the petroleum levy is eliminated.
In a significant development, JI announced a detailed schedule for its long march. A train march will depart Karachi on September 20, moving towards Punjab. Subsequently, the march will proceed to Islamabad, with participants expected to arrive between September 23 and 24. Previously, the party had announced September 20 as the Islamabad march date, but the latest update set the arrival for the 23rd or 24th.
The plan also includes a road caravan leaving Multan for Lahore on September 22, followed by a march from Lahore to Islamabad via the GT Road on September 23. As preparations intensify, JI has concluded its sit-in at Faisal Chowk in Lahore.
Throughout the campaign, the party remains focused on its core demand: the abolition of the petroleum levy and relief from soaring fuel prices.
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