JI's Hafiz Naeem calls for fixing petrol price at Rs225 per litre

Karachi: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman declared on Friday that his party would initiate a nationwide march to Islamabad if the government did not withdraw the petroleum levy. This threat emerged as the JI's sit-in persisted in Karachi for its sixth day, drawing a massive congregation of party supporters, including women and children.

Addressing the rally, Hafiz Naeem reaffirmed his stance, declaring that from Karachi to Khyber, Kashmir to Gwadar, people would walk to Islamabad in a protest unlike any before in Pakistan's history. He expressed disappointment with the government's Rs32 per litre reduction in diesel prices, asserting that this was insufficient and demanding the abolition of the petroleum levy.

In its place, he called for fixing the price of petrol at Rs225 per litre for a period of three years. Hafiz Naeem also advocated for the cancellation of "anti-people" agreements with independent power producers, an end to billions in capacity payments, and cheaper electricity for consumers. Urging citizens from all political and religious backgrounds to join the protest, he emphasized that the issue of petrol price impacted everyone.

Criticizing government expenditures, Hafiz Naeem highlighted that the government had provided Rs380 billion worth of free petrol and Rs280 billion worth of free electricity to the bureaucracy the previous year. He pointed out that the government had collected Rs1.566 trillion from the petroleum levy the previous year, surpassing its target by Rs100 billion.

The JI leader drew attention to the party's previous 14-day protest against IPPs, which he claimed had led to a cost saving of Rs8.64 per unit for residential consumers and Rs16.34 per unit for commercial consumers. He announced that agreements with five IPPs had been terminated, while negotiations with 22 others had been reopened, potentially saving the national exchequer Rs3.4 trillion.

Hafiz Naeem lamented that inflation had made life extremely difficult for ordinary citizens and characterized the protest against the petroleum levy as a nationwide struggle rather than a factional issue.