KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced a nationwide strike on August 7 to protest the recent increase in petrol prices, urging traders, transporters and the public to take part in the shutdown.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi on Saturday, Hafiz Naeem said Pakistan’s political and economic problems could not be solved through statements alone. He questioned who should be held responsible for the country’s poor governance and said all political stakeholders shared responsibility for the current situation.
He stressed that if the system was to improve, elected representatives should be allowed to govern.
Commenting on Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent remarks about “Form-47,” Hafiz Naeem said Bilawal himself was “a product of Form-47.” He added that political parties usually raise objections only when their share in power is reduced.
The JI chief also criticised the political partnership between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), alleging that both parties had weakened the country’s democratic system.
Referring to the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, he called on the government to immediately begin talks with the people to address the ongoing issues.
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Hafiz Naeem also criticised the government’s fuel pricing policy, saying petrol and diesel prices had reached record highs. He claimed Pakistan currently had the highest petrol prices in the region and argued that taxes and the petroleum levy made up a large portion of the retail price.
Calling the petroleum levy an “extortion tax,” he urged the government to reduce the petrol price to Rs225 per litre. He said the latest increase in fuel prices had raised the cost of at least 27 essential commodities, placing additional financial pressure on the public.
He further claimed that the government was using the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as a reason not to reduce the petroleum levy while continuing to provide official privileges and subsidised electricity to the ruling elite.
Criticising the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Hafiz Naeem alleged that despite having more than 25,000 employees, the institution had become a centre of corruption.
Announcing the party’s protest schedule, he said Jamaat-e-Islami would hold a women’s march in Karachi on August 3 at Shahrah-e-Quaideen, while youth rehearsal sit-ins would be organised across the country on Sunday.