JI Emir Announces Expansion of Sit-ins into Major Public Movement

JI Emir Announces Expansion of Sit-ins into Major Public Movement

LAHORE, Aug 17: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Monday announced plans to turn the ongoing sit-ins against the petroleum levy into a broader nationwide public movement, warning the government that failure to meet JI’s demands could lead to a countrywide shutdown and a march on Islamabad.
“This is not a protest for a few days. We have not come here to leave,” Rehman said while addressing the sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House in Lahore. He warned that if the government refused to abolish the petroleum levy and provide relief on fuel and electricity prices, JI could mobilise people across the country and march towards the capital. He also announced that women would join the Lahore sit-in from Tuesday.
The protests against the petroleum levy, expensive electricity, independent power producer (IPP) agreements and privileges enjoyed by the ruling elite entered their second day in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Thousands of people participated despite the intense heat, with protesters raising slogans demanding an end to the levy and relief from inflation.
Addressing the Lahore gathering, Rehman said voices for truth and justice were now being heard across all four provinces. He said JI would continue its campaign until the government accepted its demands.
“The entire nation will bring about an Islamic revolution,” he said, arguing that successive political experiments had failed and the existing system could no longer function.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also launched a scathing attack on the judicial system, saying that around 2.4 million cases were pending in courts and that ordinary citizens could not expect justice while the powerful enjoyed influence. He criticised judicial privileges and said the existing system was incapable of delivering timely justice.
He said JI had filed a petition against the petroleum levy in the constitutional court around two and a half months ago, but the case had yet to be taken up. “We were told that the judges were on leave,” he said, adding that the party would continue fighting the issue both politically and legally.
The JI chief stressed that his party did not want to come to power through a conspiracy or a back door but through public support. He said a crowd without direction could achieve little, while JI’s struggle was based on discipline, ideology and faith.
He said JI regarded politics and its sit-ins as a form of service to the people, adding that it opposed personality cults and wanted to bring about change through an organised movement.
Turning to foreign policy and national politics, Rehman said JI had consistently raised the issues of Gaza, Palestine and Kashmir. He said other political parties lacked the courage to openly criticise US President Donald Trump, while JI had also delivered billions of rupees in assistance to Kashmir.
He said Pakistan belonged to its 250 million people, not to any general, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari or Imran Khan. Referring to tensions in Azad Kashmir, he said grievances against an institution should not be turned into hostility towards Pakistan. “The state belongs to 250 million people,” he said, arguing that no state could impose its will on people at gunpoint and that dialogue was the only way forward.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman also criticised the establishment’s role in producing political leadership, saying politicians often raised slogans about respecting the vote only when they were out of power. He questioned the credibility of electoral processes, referring to allegations surrounding the 2024 elections and the 2018 polls.
He said JI did not want seats handed to it as a favour and would instead build public support, train young people and work with citizens to change the country.
On the petroleum levy, Rehman said the government had collected more than Rs8 trillion from consumers, while the levy was originally intended to improve the country’s refineries. Despite the huge collections, he said, refineries had not been adequately upgraded.
He said Pakistan had around 25 million motorcycles and their users were effectively being forced to pay a heavy fuel-related tax. The government, he said, was extracting around Rs2.5 billion from citizens every day, including approximately Rs900 billion annually through the petroleum levy alone.
He argued that if such resources were invested in education instead, the country’s social and economic conditions could improve substantially.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said the government was sustaining the IPP sector at the expense of consumers, adding the burden of payments had been shifted onto ordinary citizens. He criticised tax exemptions and privileges for the elite while workers, students and the middle class continued to bear the bulk of the tax burden.
He said that privileged companies received concessions and bank loans while senior officials enjoyed subsidised or free services. He also criticised the bureaucracy for using expensive official vehicles while taking action against poor street vendors.
The JI chief said the education system had been divided along class lines and added that the industrial sector was similarly split between influential businessmen whose concerns were heard and others who struggled to secure government attention.
Explaining the Lahore protest, Rehman said the ruling PML-N was operating a family-dominated political structure. He said even a person born into the Sharif family could enjoy greater status than a worker who had spent decades serving it.
He warned that the Lahore sit-in would cause political discomfort not only in Islamabad but also in power centres such as Nathiagali and Jati Umra.
Rehman reiterated that petrol should be reduced to Rs225 per litre and the petroleum levy abolished. He urged young people across Pakistan to prepare for a prolonged protest and warned that JI could expand the campaign into a nationwide strike.
“If the people march on Islamabad against injustice, the rulers will have nowhere to run,” he said.
Meanwhile, the JI emir was given an enthusiastic welcome when he arrived at the Lahore sit-in. JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, Deputy Secretaries Azhar Iqbal Hassan, Sheikh Usman Farooq and Russel Khan Babar, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, Central Punjab Emir Javed Kasuri and Faisalabad West Emir Sardar Usman also addressed the Lahore gathering. JI Vice Emir Dr Osama Razi, Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmed Janjua and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present.
In Karachi, JI Karachi Emir Munim Zafar and other local leaders addressed the protest outside the Governor House. In Peshawar, JI Vice Emir Professor Ibrahim, Central Khyber PK Emir Abdul Wasay and Northern KP Emir Inayatullah Khan, along with other leaders, addressed the sit-in.