Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami announces march on Islamabad against fuel levy
In Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami party plans to march to Islamabad on September 20, demanding the abolition of the petroleum levy. Party leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced this during a public gathering in Gujranwala, Dawn reports.
Rehman said columns of supporters from across the country would head to the capital. According to him, if the authorities do not abolish the levy before the march begins, the protest will enter a decisive phase on the streets of Islamabad. He also said that failure to meet the protesters’ demands could prompt the party to launch a movement for the government’s resignation.
Protesters’ demands
According to the outlet, the government collects 114 Pakistani rupees in taxes and duties per litre of petrol and 100 rupees per litre of diesel fuel. Rehman claims that the authorities have collected 1,567 billion rupees from the population through the fuel levy and criticizes them for the additional tax burden on citizens.
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The Jamaat-e-Islami leader also said that the party had raised these issues during talks with the authorities but received no satisfactory answers. Separately, he called for an end to interest-based financial transactions, referring to a ruling by the Federal Shariat Court.
Sit-in protests
On Friday, the party’s sit-in protests against the fuel levy in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and dozens of other locations continued for the 27th day. Rehman said the party intended to expand these actions and also address a women’s public gathering in Islamabad the following day.
On August 16, Jamaat-e-Islami announced sit-in protests in the capitals of all Pakistani provinces. The party also called for a nationwide strike on September 3.
