Jamaat-e-Islami to hold sit-ins in every district against petroleum levy

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) will launch the third phase of its protest movement against the petroleum levy on Friday, October 23, with sit-ins planned in every district of the country, the party said on Wednesday.

A JI spokesperson said a government committee had earlier contacted the party to arrange a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, but had made no further contact even though the arrangements had been agreed, Geo News reported.

Update: government reaches out again

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has contacted JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, and the two sides’ negotiating committees are due to meet in Islamabad on Friday to discuss the petroleum levy, Geo News reported. Baloch said a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has also been scheduled. The renewed contact came a day after JI announced its third phase of sit-ins.

Talks that never happened

According to a JI press release quoted by Dawn, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and the prime minister’s adviser on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, had contacted JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch to pass on the prime minister’s request for a meeting.

“Both sides had agreed that their respective committees would meet to work out a schedule for the proposed meeting,” the statement said. The party said the government did not get back in touch after that.

JI said the only agenda for any meeting with the prime minister would be the abolition of the petroleum levy. “The JI emir has warned that if the government continues to delay action and refuses to provide relief to the public, the matter will be decided through street protests,” the statement said.

How much the state takes per litre

The government currently charges Rs114 a litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 a litre on diesel, according to Dawn. In early September, when JI was planning a nationwide strike, the government and the party agreed to form committees to recommend ways to cut the levy.

The party says its campaign will continue across the country until the levy is removed. Its demand, Hafiz Naeem has said, is relief for the public through lower fuel prices.

A campaign that keeps returning

The new phase is the latest step in a campaign that began in August:

• August 16: JI announced sit-ins in all provincial capitals against the petroleum levy and called a nationwide strike for September 3.
• Sit-ins and strike: The party staged sit-ins at 510 locations across the country and observed a shutdown strike against rising fuel prices and inflation, Geo News reported.
• September 20: JI set off on a protest march towards Islamabad, warning it could turn into a movement to remove the government if the levy was not abolished.
• September 22: With its convoy in Multan, the party postponed the march after the prime minister asked for talks on his return to Pakistan.

At the time, Hafiz Naeem said JI would meet the prime minister but would not abandon its protest movement. The party has also said it wants written assurances from the government before deciding its next steps.

The new protests come as households face pressure from fuel and cooking gas costs. LPG cylinders are being sold at more than twice the official price amid a supply shortage, Geo News reported on Wednesday, while the government says it will import the gas itself to bring prices down.