JI Emir Announces Sit-ins at Provincial Headquarters Against Petroleum Levy

JI Emir Announces Sit-ins at Provincial Headquarters Against Petroleum Levy

LAHORE, Aug. 7, 2026: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Friday announced a new phase of the party's nationwide campaign against the petroleum levy, declaring that sit-ins would be staged on Sunday outside the Governor Houses in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and outside the Punjab Chief Minister's House.
Addressing a massive sit-in at Lahore's Qurtaba Chowk, he said the government should understand that Friday's demonstrations at around 510 locations across the country were merely a rehearsal. He vowed that after a one-day break, protesters would gather at all four provincial headquarters and would not disperse until the petroleum levy was abolished.
Rejecting the levy as extortion in the name of taxation, he said the “Form-47-imposed rulers" were burdening the public while those rejected by the people were now admitting the failure of the system. He said the tradition of imposing rulers dated back to British colonial rule and had continued for more than seven decades through loyalists of the colonial system. Reiterating his long-standing criticism of the existing political order, he called it a rotten and obsolete system that must be uprooted, urging those running the country to acknowledge their failure.
JI Deputy Emir Dr. Usama Razi, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari and Azhar Bilal also addressed the sit-in. Deputy Secretary Russell Khan Babar, Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi, National Labour Federation President Shamsur Rehman Swati, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Lahore Nazim Abdullah Abbas, the Nazim of Jamiat Talaba Arabia and other party leaders were also present.
Rehman said that from the coast of Karachi to Lahore, hundreds of protest sites had sprung up across Pakistan, while people from remote areas such as Tharparkar had set out for demonstrations even before Friday prayers in response to Jamaat-e-Islami's call. Despite the difficult security situation in Balochistan, protests were held at 21 locations instead of the planned 18, which was evidence of growing public confidence in the movement.
He paid tribute to what he called the sons of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for raising their voices in support of the people and demanded the immediate release of all arrested JI leaders and workers. He also thanked JUI, PTI, ANP and the Lahore Bar Association and others for supporting JI's campaign against the petroleum levy.
The JI chief said the party believed in uniting the nation rather than dividing it and urged people to stand together against the land mafia, feudal politics and an exploitative system. Those rejected by voters, he said, were now lamenting the failure of the very system that had never delivered relief to the people since its colonial origins.
Recalling his address at Minar-e-Pakistan last November, he said he had asked the ruling elite what they had done for ordinary Pakistanis. He argued that large landlords and feudal elites should now admit they had failed, adding that the current political structure was not merely an administrative arrangement but a colonial framework through which Britain ruled the region by relying on loyal feudal families. According to him, the same elite had continued to dominate politics by switching political parties while making life increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens.
He praised protesters for maintaining discipline, saying demonstrations were conducted peacefully and JI workers ensured that ambulances and emergency vehicles were not obstructed.
Criticizing the government's fuel pricing policy, Rehman that a petroleum mafia had been imposed on the country. He said whenever international oil prices increased, the government passed on even higher costs to consumers while simultaneously raising the petroleum levy. However, when global oil prices declined, the government offered only marginal relief. He said that although crude oil was trading at around $74 per barrel, Pakistanis were being charged approximately Rs333 per litre for petrol, which he argued was unjustified.
He further said that successive governments had used the petroleum levy to compensate for the Federal Board of Revenue's inefficiency and corruption. According to him, more than Rs8 trillion had been collected through the levy, yet not a single rupee had been invested in upgrading the country's refineries. He demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif immediately withdraw the levy.
The JI emir said the burden of inflation and taxation was falling disproportionately on labourers, farmers, students, motorcycle riders and low-income families, while the ruling elite remained unwilling to sacrifice its privileges. Questioning government spending, he asked whether Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had sought the International Monetary Fund's approval before purchasing an aircraft worth Rs11 billion, or whether the IMF had been consulted over expensive official vehicles used by senior bureaucrats and constitutional office-holders. He said the IMF was cited only when relief for ordinary people was under discussion.
He maintained that many poor families were now paying electricity bills higher than their monthly salaries, while their children could no longer afford even basic vegetables, let alone fruit. He also criticized a widening class divide in education, saying luxury continued for the elite while ordinary Pakistanis struggled to meet basic needs.
Rehman reiterated that Jamaat-e-Islami's struggle aimed to dismantle the existing system and replace it with one based on justice, merit, public welfare and accountability. "The state belongs to Pakistan's 250 million people, not to those who wield guns," he said, adding that Pakistan had been created in the name of Islam and therefore could neither belong to generals nor feudal landlords.