JI chief rejects petroleum relief package, demands abolition of levy

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday rejected the Prime Minister's latest petroleum relief package, demanding the complete abolition of the petroleum levy. The JI chief criticized the scheme as insufficient during a press conference in Lahore, warning the government of creating obstacles if undemocratic tactics were used to block the party's planned march towards Islamabad on September 20.

The JI has been staging protests since August 16 over the levy, holding sit-ins in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, and numerous other locations nationwide. Rehman claimed that a 3% reduction in the interest rate could save the national treasury approximately Rs1.7 trillion, enough to eliminate the petroleum levy, which currently collects over Rs1.56 trillion annually from the public.

He accused the government of prioritizing banking sector profits over inflation control. Rehman also criticized certain oil refineries for exploiting pricing differences between imported and locally refined oil, resulting in unlawful profits at the public's expense.