LAHORE – Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has announced that the party will stage “historic” protest sit-ins outside Chief Minister and Governor Houses in all four provinces on Sunday, as nationwide demonstrations against petroleum levy and inflation continued to disrupt major cities across Pakistan.
Addressing protesters gathered at Qurtaba Chowk in Lahore on Friday, the JI Ameer declared that the protest movement would not stop until the government heeds public demands. He questioned the crowd, “If I say that we do not have to leave here, are you all ready?” – drawing a strong affirmative response from participants.
Hafiz Naeem described Friday’s demonstrations as a preview of what is to come. “This protest was just a trailer,” he said, adding that the party would give a gap on Saturday before returning with full force on Sunday.
He emphasized that the struggle has begun and that workers would march toward the Chief Minister’s House in Lahore, with simultaneous sit-ins planned outside Governor Houses across all four provinces.
The JI chief also confirmed that party workers had been arrested in various areas, including Wazirabad and Gujranwala, and demanded their immediate release.
Hafiz Naeem launched a scathing attack on the government’s petroleum levy policy, claiming that Rs8,000 billion had been collected from the public under this head.
He accused the rulers of failing to pass on relief to consumers despite a decline in global oil prices. “When the prices of petroleum products started decreasing in the global market, they increased the prices,” he said, adding that taxes continued to rise after the price hike.
In a direct reference to the Punjab Chief Minister, Hafiz Naeem questioned whether Maryam Nawaz had purchased a ship worth Rs11 billion after consulting the International Monetary Fund. “Maryam Bibi bought a ship worth Rs11 billion with your and my money,” he alleged.
He argued that the elite rulers were disconnected from public suffering. “I ask the elite of Pakistan whether they even know about inflation?” the JI chief remarked.
Hafiz Naeem called for a fundamental overhaul of the governance system. “This system has to be changed. The problem will not be solved by pruning. This dirty system will have to be uprooted and thrown away, then a revolution will come,” he declared.
He framed the protest as a movement for 25 crore Pakistanis, stating that the state belongs to the people, not any officer or elite. “We want a state in which the people are included. We had achieved this state in the name of Allah,” he added.
Due to the protests, several major roads in Lahore – including Ferozepur Road, Jail Road, Liton Road, Bahawalpur Road and Queens Road – remained closed to traffic.
A heavy contingent of police was deployed in and around Qurtaba Chowk, where strict security arrangements were put in place.
According to Jamaat-e-Islami, protests were held at 510 locations across 170 districts nationwide, with roads blocked in Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and other cities.
