Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has threatened to call a nationwide strike if the government does not immediately withdraw the latest increase in petrol prices.
Speaking to the media during the party’s sit-in in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said the government had increased the price of petrol by Rs5 on Monday night and warned that the party would announce a strike if the decision was not reversed.
“The matter will not remain limited to sit-ins,” he said, adding that JI had already blocked major highways at 510 locations across the country as part of its protest campaign.
The JI launched its latest round of protests and sit-ins on Sunday in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta against the petroleum levy, rising fuel prices and inflation.
The protests are part of the party’s broader nationwide campaign, which saw demonstrations at hundreds of locations earlier this month.
Hafiz Naeem criticized the government for increasing both fuel prices and taxes, calling the petroleum levy an “extortion tax” and “jagga tax”.
He also questioned the tax contributions of landlords affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), particularly on agricultural land.
The JI chief demanded that the government reduce the price of petrol to Rs225 per liter.
