If Government Does Not Back Down on Petroleum Levy, Jamaat e Islami Will Escalate Protest: Hafiz Naeem

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said inflation and high petroleum prices were among the biggest problems affecting ordinary people. He said it was the state's responsibility to provide basic facilities to citizens, but the current system had failed to deliver while continuing to impose additional taxes and charges on the public.

Criticising the petroleum levy, Hafiz Naeem said the government was imposing an unjustified tax on ordinary citizens after failing to meet its own targets. He said people were being charged a substantial amount on every litre of petrol in the form of a levy without receiving any corresponding relief.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami's protest against the petroleum levy was justified and that public participation in its sit-ins was increasing. He said that after Peshawar, a major protest and public gathering would also be held in Karachi. The party, he added, would not limit itself to sit-ins and would establish protest camps at different locations to demand relief for the public.

The Jamaat chief said a reduction in petroleum prices would directly affect the prices of essential commodities. According to him, if petrol prices come down, the prices of flour, sugar, pulses, vegetables and other necessities could also decrease. He therefore urged the government to take immediate steps to provide relief to the public.

Hafiz Naeem also questioned government expenditure, saying that on the one hand people were being asked to make sacrifices while government and elite spending remained unchecked. He called for a review of spending on government vehicles, free fuel and other privileges.

He said government officials and rulers should not be provided with vehicles exceeding 1,300cc and that the use of public resources should be restricted. Asking ordinary citizens to make sacrifices while rulers refused to reduce their own expenses, he said, was unacceptable.

Hafiz Naeem urged the government to renegotiate agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), reduce electricity prices and abolish the petroleum levy to bring down the prices of petroleum products.

He also criticised various charges included in electricity bills, saying fixed charges, quarterly adjustments, fuel adjustments and other taxes had increased the difficulties faced by consumers. He said the government and state institutions had failed to fulfil their responsibilities, and the cost of that failure was being passed directly on to the public.

Criticising the government's style of governance, the Jamaat chief said a small segment of society enjoyed extraordinary privileges while ordinary people struggled to pay for their children's education and meet basic needs. He said the influence of the elite had become dominant in the country's system and that the situation needed to change.

Hafiz Naeem also questioned the performance of the Punjab government, saying problems related to poverty, education, healthcare and agriculture were increasing in the province. He claimed that a large number of children in Punjab were out of school and that several government schools were being outsourced.

He said education and healthcare were the government's responsibility and that outsourcing these services to the private sector could not absolve the government of its duties. According to him, outsourcing was not a permanent solution to the problems caused by the failure of the public system.

Referring again to government spending, Hafiz Naeem said that while the burden of levies and taxes on the public was increasing, billions of rupees were being spent on government expenditures.

Addressing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly, he said, “You burden the nation with a levy and buy an Rs11 billion aircraft for your niece. Shehbaz Sharif, this will not work. This is our money, our children's money.”

Hafiz Naeem said the government must adopt austerity in spending taxpayers' money and end the privileges enjoyed by the elite.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami's sit-in was not an issue concerning any single political party but an issue affecting the people of the entire country. He added that the party was ready for meaningful negotiations with the government but would not participate in any government briefing.

“If the government wants negotiations, it should come to the sit-in and discuss the people's legitimate demands,” he said. He added that the main agenda for negotiations should include reducing petroleum prices, abolishing the levy, lowering electricity prices and providing relief to the public.

Hafiz Naeem said the government repeatedly cited pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on every issue, but it was the government itself that negotiated and signed agreements with the IMF. He said it was unacceptable to further burden the public every time by invoking the IMF's name.

He also described the interest-based financial system as a major cause of the country's economic problems. He said the elimination of interest was necessary and that the size of interest-based financing should be reduced rather than allowed to expand.

Responding to a question about agricultural taxation, Hafiz Naeem said large landlords and big landowners should be taxed, but it would be unfair to place an additional burden on ordinary farmers. He said farmers owning five, 10 or a few acres of land were already struggling with the high cost of fertilisers, DAP and urea.

He said genuine tax reforms in the agricultural sector should focus on bringing large landlords and privileged groups into the tax net rather than placing an additional burden on ordinary farmers.

Hafiz Naeem said the feudal system should be abolished and a new agricultural system introduced in which farmers, landowners, the government and people involved in trade could work together through partnerships.

He made it clear that Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its protests and said that if the government failed to take effective measures to provide relief to the public, the option of marching towards Islamabad remained open. He said people would be mobilised across the country for large-scale protests.

Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami did not view its protest merely as a political activity but as a struggle for people's rights, which it would continue as an act of devotion.