Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman Sets Out Protest Roadmap, Warns Govt of Lahore Shutdown

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman Sets Out Protest Roadmap, Warns Govt of Lahore Shutdown

LAHORE, Aug 23: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has warned the government that the JI will intensify its nationwide campaign against the petroleum levy and IPPs, including shutting down Lahore and marching on Islamabad if its demands are ignored.
Addressing supporters at the JI sit-in outside the Punjab CM House on the eighth day of the protest, Rehman said the government still had time to accept public demands, reduce fuel prices and rein in IPPs.
“Peaceful protest is our constitutional right. If the government tries to stop us, we will shut down the entire Lahore,” he warned, adding that the next phase could see a march on Islamabad.
He announced a series of public gatherings as part of the campaign, with major rallies scheduled for Faisalabad on August 28, Rawalpindi on August 30, Swat on September 4 and Hazara on September 11. The sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar would continue, he said.
Rehman also reiterated JI’s plan to announce a nationwide shutter-down strike on 13 Rabi-ul-Awwal, followed by a march towards Islamabad. “We are grassroots workers. We will reach Islamabad and show them,” he said, warning the government to fear the day when a “sea of people” reached the federal capital.
Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmad Janjua, Acting Secretary General of JI Women’s Wing Samina Saeed, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari and leaders Azhar Bilal and others also addressed the gathering. JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, deputy secretaries Azhar Iqbal Hassan and Russel Khan Babar, and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present.
Despite intense heat and humidity, thousands of people attended the Lahore sit-in on its eighth day. A sit-in also began in Islamabad on Sunday, where participants watched Hafiz Naeem’s speech live on large screens and chanted slogans against what they described as anti-people government policies.
The JI Emir said the large turnout in Lahore demonstrated JI’s revival in the city. He invited farmers’ groups, the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), lawyers and other civil society and professional organisations to join the protest, saying JI had a grassroots network capable of sustaining a nationwide movement.
He said people were increasingly tired of politics dominated by political families and personalities. “People are fed up with personality worship and dynastic politics,” he said, urging citizens not to retreat into political apathy but to join JI’s struggle.
Responding to criticism that the sit-ins were causing road closures, Rehman said the government had blocked the “highways of people’s lives” by undermining the economy, education, healthcare, development and employment opportunities for young people.
He maintained that JI was exercising its democratic and constitutional right to peaceful protest. “If the government wants to test us, let it try but it should not come in that direction, otherwise we will shut down Lahore,” he said.
Turning to the petroleum levy, he challenged the government to come to the protesters with a concrete plan for abolishing the levy and tackling the IPP and sugar mafias.
He said government and sugar mafia denied farmers fair prices, creating artificial shortages and then pushing for imports. He said that 665,000 tonnes of sugar had been imported without taxes, but instead of bringing prices down, the move had made sugar more expensive. Now, he said, the government was talking about exporting surplus sugar. He said that 11 companies were benefiting from arrangements with the government and added that wheat, sugar and IPP mafias had links across political parties.
On petroleum taxation, he said the government had collected more than Rs8 trillion through the petroleum levy since its introduction. He said that levy collections this year had exceeded both the target set by the government and its commitments to the International Monetary Fund.
He questioned the rationale behind maintaining the levy despite a Rs32-per-litre reduction in diesel prices, saying that consumers were still being charged on the basis of similar pricing for locally produced and imported oil.
The JI chief also challenged the government over its handling of IPPs. He said the government had previously claimed that it could not negotiate with IPPs but was now claiming that negotiations had produced savings of Rs4.3 trillion for the national exchequer.
He demanded cuts in government expenditure and privileges, urging ministers and officials to abandon large vehicles in favour of 1,300cc cars. He also called for an end to free electricity and fuel for officials.
Rehman IPPs were charging consumers capacity payments even for electricity that was not generated. He said similar capacity payments were being made for re-gasification plants and the Matiari-Lahore transmission line.
He said the crisis was not merely a failure of individual political parties but a structural problem requiring fundamental change. “We have to uproot this system and replace it with a system based on justice,” he said.
On electoral politics, Rehman said JI believed in elections and would not leave the political field open for others. He said the party would campaign for proportional representation and rejected coming to power through backdoor arrangements or Form 47.
“Elections can be our route, but they are not our destination,” he said, adding that JI wanted to replace the existing system with one based on justice and accountability.
He said the sit-ins would not be wound up but extended, with the party planning to connect supporters across the country through large screens. He said JI did not forcibly bring people to its protests and that citizens were joining voluntarily in support of their demands.
The JI leader demanded the government abolish the petroleum levy, reduce fuel prices and rein in IPPs. He also demanded that the price of bread be fixed at Rs10, warning that JI would continue pursuing the issue until its demands were met.