JI Third Wave: Karachi Sit-In, KP Rallies Against Petroleum Levy
Jamaat-e-Islami’s third wave of protests against the petroleum levy moved from announcement to the streets on Friday, with a sit-in in Karachi and rallies across several districts of central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The demonstrations mark the practical start of the phase the party announced earlier this week, when JI said it would launch nationwide sit-ins with the same unchanging demand: the complete abolition of the petroleum levy.
Karachi: march threat and signature campaign
In Karachi, JI’s city chief Monem Zafar Khan addressed a sit-in outside Noorani Kabab House on Shahrah-e-Qaideen and warned that the party would resume its march towards Islamabad from Multan if the federal government failed to provide meaningful relief from what he described as an unjust petroleum levy.
“We postponed our march towards Islamabad from Multan on the prime minister’s assurance, but all options remain open,” he said, adding that JI workers and supporters in Karachi would join the march whenever the party leadership issued the call.
Zafar said protests had been held at more than 150 locations on the appeal of JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, marking the beginning of the third phase of the campaign. He also announced a public outreach and signature campaign across Karachi from October 24 to 31, with camps to be set up in neighbourhoods and streets to mobilise support against the levy.
He dismissed the government’s relief package, announced after JI’s campaign, as inadequate and “a drop in the ocean”, and accused the government of burdening citizens through petroleum taxes while keeping lavish official privileges.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: district-level rallies
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the party held sit-ins, rallies and public gatherings across central districts on the call of the JI chief. Demonstrations were organised in Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Charsadda and Khyber.
In Peshawar, a sit-in was staged at Hashtnagri Chowk under district amir Bahrullah Khan Advocate. In Mardan, the protest outside the Press Club was led by JI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Central amir Abdul Wasi. Sit-ins and rallies followed at Shobra Chowk in Nowshera, Aman Chowk in Swabi, Farooq Azam Chowk in Charsadda, and a rally in Khyber.
Addressing the gatherings, JI leaders said repeated increases in petroleum prices had fuelled inflation, while prolonged electricity and gas load-shedding and the deteriorating law and order situation had made life increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens.
They also alleged that, after the imposition of governor’s rule in the province, the government had launched anti-encroachment operations to divert public attention from pressing issues. They demanded that those who had facilitated illegal encroachments be identified, and that government officials involved in the practice also face action.
The levy at the centre of it all
The petroleum levy is JI’s central grievance. The party says it pushes fuel prices beyond the reach of ordinary households and transporters. The government has maintained that the levy is a key revenue source, and earlier this week both sides agreed their committees would meet to discuss a possible meeting between the JI chief and the prime minister.
That diplomatic track has now stalled, and the street track has taken over. The party had earlier postponed its Islamabad march on the prime minister’s assurance; Friday’s warning puts the march back on the table if relief does not follow.
The backdrop is a fuel market already under strain. The October 23 price revision and the October 22 changes have kept petrol and diesel prices high, and every fortnightly revision renews the pressure that feeds JI’s campaign.
