Jamaat-i-Islami announces nationwide road blockade against petroleum levy

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced a nationwide highway blockade and sit-ins for Aug 7, saying the party would intensify its anti-petroleum levy and anti-inflation campaign in a second phase of protests.

Speaking at a press conference at Mansoorah, Rehman said JI workers and supporters would block roads connecting districts across the country, with ambulances allowed to pass. He said the party would hold 20,000 corner meetings nationwide before the protest date to mobilise public support.

The JI’s campaign is focused on the immediate abolition of the petroleum levy, cancellation of costly agreements with independent power producers, and action to ease inflation and power shortages. Rehman said the government’s decision to impose a petroleum and carbon levy on June 14, 2025, under commitments linked to the International Monetary Fund had added to the burden on ordinary citizens.

He criticised the government’s move to allow the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority to adjust petroleum prices daily, calling it misleading and questioning the authority’s role in levy and tax decisions. He argued that removing the petroleum levy and other taxes would bring petrol prices below Rs200 per litre, and urged the government to cut its own spending and privileges instead of increasing pressure on the public.

Rehman also warned the authorities against trying to stop the planned protest through undemocratic means, saying such a response could transform the anti-inflation drive into a wider movement aimed at bringing down the government. He appealed to young people to participate actively, including by bringing motorcycles onto the roads on protest day.

Alongside fuel prices, the JI chief pressed the government to scrap expensive power contracts with IPPs, take practical steps to end electricity load-shedding, and help restore food prices to pre-Iran-US conflict levels. He also said the party would seek wider backing for the movement through meetings with religious scholars, traders, lawyers, students, civil society groups and others.

Rehman used the occasion to criticise governance in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and elsewhere, while also expressing concern over the security situation in KP’s southern districts and in Balochistan. He urged dialogue to address political and security challenges, and said the party was engaging stakeholders on the Balochistan issue and hoped a grand jirga would soon be convened.

He added that negotiations between state institutions and the Joint Action Committee in Azad Kashmir were a welcome development, and said JI had long supported dialogue to resolve such disputes.

The report is based on a monitored public feed and is attributed to Dawn Home. Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017280/jamaat-i-islami-announces-nationwide-road-blockade-against-petroleum-levy