Lahore: Jamaat e Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has vowed to continue protests against the petroleum levy and rising inflation until the government withdraws the tax, saying the authorities would eventually be forced to back down.
Addressing a sit in at Faisal Chowk on Lahore’s Mall Road, Hafiz Naeem said the ruling elite had placed people under severe financial pressure by not only increasing petrol prices but also imposing additional taxes.
He said the sit in had begun in Lahore and would continue, while Jamaat e Islami protesters were also holding a demonstration outside the Governor House in Karachi.
Hafiz Naeem said the struggle would continue until the government was forced to concede, expressing confidence that the protest movement would eventually compel the authorities to step back.
Responding to the government’s announcement of a committee, the Jamaat e Islami chief said his party was not interested in receiving any briefing and would not travel to Islamabad for talks.
He said anyone seeking negotiations should come to the protesters, adding that discussions would focus on only one demand: the withdrawal of the petroleum levy.
Hafiz Naeem said the existing system had no connection with ordinary citizens and could no longer continue in its present form.
He described the petroleum levy as a forcibly imposed tax and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
The Jamaat e Islami chief also criticised the country’s feudal system and taxation policies, questioning how many landlords associated with the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz had paid taxes on their estates.
He alleged that poor farmers were being exploited while major landlords avoided taxes, senior bureaucrats consumed public resources and those in power refused to give up their privileges while placing an increasing financial burden on ordinary citizens.
Jamaat e Islami is currently holding sit ins against inflation and the petroleum levy outside Governor Houses in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
