Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman: Protest Movement Won’t Stop

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman: Protest Movement Won’t Stop

LAHORE: August 24: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Monday warned the government of a nationwide shutdown if its demands for abolition of the petroleum levy, reduction in electricity prices and cheaper food were not accepted, saying the ongoing protest movement would be expanded across the country.
Addressing protesters on the ninth day of the sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem announced that Jamaat-e-Islami would hold Seerat conferences at its protest camps on 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal and announce a nationwide shutter-down strike for 13 Rabi-ul-Awwal. He said sit-ins would also begin in Balochistan from August 29.
“Today, the government is rattled by our protest. If a sea of people comes onto the streets, the rulers will not be able to handle it,” he said, vowing to prolong the sit-ins until the party’s demands were met.
The JI chief demanded an end to the petroleum levy, cheaper electricity, a Rs10 price for roti and a wheat support price of Rs4,500 per maund. He said the government was imposing unjust levy on ordinary citizens while collecting around Rs130 per litre in taxes and levies on petroleum products.
Rehman said that more than Rs8 trillion had been collected under the petroleum levy, arguing that the money had failed to deliver the promised improvements in the country’s refineries. “End the levy or your government will end,” he warned.
He said protests were already under way in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, while camps had also been established in Islamabad and several parts of Sindh, including Larkana, Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar and Hyderabad. He said the movement would be extended to other areas and urged citizens to document their problems through photographs and videos and share them on social media.
“The social media storm will deprive the rulers of sleep,” he said, adding that JI would compile the names and signatures of millions of people supporting its demands and present them to the world.
Taking aim at the ruling political elite, Rehman said successive governments were burdening ordinary people with taxes while protecting powerful groups. He criticised excessive spending by political leaders and said government vehicles should not exceed 1,300cc.
He also attacked the electricity sector, saying that fixed charges and capacity payments were benefiting powerful business groups. He said that IPPs had been established on the promise of ending load-shedding, but the problem persisted despite billions of rupees being paid to power producers.
He said JI’s previous 14-day sit-in had forced the government to provide relief on electricity prices. “The public’s rights have been robbed, and the rulers continue to loot because people remain silent,” he said.
Rehman also criticised failed political system dominated by powerful families, landlords, tribal elites and influential groups. He argued that ordinary citizens were subjected to successive taxes while wealthy landowners remained outside an effective taxation regime.
Turning to education, he said the Punjab government was failing to provide adequate schooling and said that 11,000 schools had been outsourced. He said 11.8 million children in Punjab were out of school and accused the government of spending heavily on showcase projects instead of expanding access to education.
He also raised concerns about farmers, saying cotton production had been damaged and wheat growers were not receiving adequate returns. He criticised the government over wheat procurement policies and demanded better support for farmers.
The JI chief said the government was spending excessively while basic healthcare and education remained inadequate. He said JI was providing free IT training to young people and described the youth as Pakistan’s biggest national asset.
Rehman called on opposition parties and traders to support the protest, stressing that the sit-in was aimed at securing the rights of the entire population rather than serving the interests of JI alone. He said the party would remain peaceful but warned the government not to mistake restraint for weakness.
“We can shut roads across the country. We did it at hundreds of locations on August 7,” he said.
He also criticised federal government spending, saying that its expenditure had increased by 25 percent last year despite calls for austerity.
“Pakistan needed to invest in emerging technologies and data centres to strengthen its economy.”
He cited major investments by the United States and China in data infrastructure and argued that Pakistan could use the digital economy to generate resources and reduce its debt burden.
He further expressed concern over unemployment and drug abuse among young people and raised the issue of violence against women, saying that more than 4,500 cases of violence against women had been reported in Punjab.
The JI chief called for a broader national struggle to dismantle “system of mafias” and said his party was prepared to face difficult circumstances. “Our movement will bring a revolution in the country,” he said, adding that only an organised political force could pull Pakistan out of its present crisis.
The Lahore sit-in was also addressed by JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, Deputy Secretary Sheikh Usman Farooq, JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, JI Central Punjab Emir Javed Kasuri, Kissan Board President Sardar Zafar Hussain, Jamiat Talaba Arabia Punjab Nazim Abdul Hanan Abbasi and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Punjab University Nazim Ahsan Fareed.
Acting Secretary General Nazir Ahmad Janjua, Vice Emir Dr Osama Razi and Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present.
Despite intense heat, thousands of people attended the ninth-day protests in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Demonstrators chanted slogans against the government and demanded an end to the petroleum levy and a reduction in electricity prices, pledging to continue the campaign under the direction of their leadership.