Jamaat-e-Islami Protests Enter Second Week; Nationwide Strike Planned for Sept 3, Says Hafiz Naeem

He announced that a nationwide strike will be held on September 3, followed by a possible long march to Islamabad if the government fails to accept their demands.

Addressing participants at the sit-in in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said the government had assumed that Jamaat-e-Islami workers would leave after a few days, but the protests had now become a movement representing the wider public.

He said sit-ins were continuing in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Chitral and other cities, while the scope of the campaign was being expanded. He said people across the country were facing severe difficulties due to inflation, high electricity bills and rising fuel prices.

Hafiz Naeem said mothers were struggling to manage household expenses and that many people could no longer afford basic necessities, while the ruling elite continued to enjoy privileges at the public’s expense.

He announced that a nationwide strike would be held on September 3 and urged traders and industrialists to participate in the protest.

He said the September 3 strike would serve as a clear warning to the government. If the government failed to accept the protesters’ demands after the strike, he said Jamaat-e-Islami would call for a long march to Islamabad.

“We will not be stopped if we take to the streets. The government should come to its senses,” Hafiz Naeem said, stressing that the movement was not aimed at securing any personal benefit but at providing relief to the public.

Speaking about the electricity crisis, Hafiz Naeem questioned why load shedding was continuing despite Pakistan having an electricity generation capacity of around 49,000 megawatts against current demand of approximately 21,000 megawatts.

He said consumers were being forced to pay heavy electricity bills while also facing load shedding in several areas.

According to Hafiz Naeem, problems in the power sector, payments to independent power producers (IPPs) and capacity charges were placing an additional burden on consumers.

He also claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami’s protests against IPPs had resulted in billions of rupees in benefits for the country.

Hafiz Naeem also criticized the government over petroleum prices, saying global oil prices had declined but consumers had not received corresponding relief.

He claimed that around Rs130 in taxes and other charges were being imposed on every litre of petrol, including approximately Rs80 in petroleum levy.

He further claimed that successive governments had collected more than Rs8 trillion from the public through the petroleum levy and called for relief instead of imposing additional financial burdens on consumers.

The Jamaat-e-Islami leader also criticized government spending and official privileges.

He demanded an end to free fuel facilities for government officials and the ruling elite, claiming that the move could save the country around Rs380 billion annually.

He also called for a policy under which no government official would be allowed to use a vehicle with an engine capacity above 1,300cc.

“Driving smaller cars will not kill you,” Hafiz Naeem said, urging the ruling class to reduce its expenses and consider the economic hardships faced by ordinary citizens.

He also proposed selling the aircraft associated with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the Senate chairman’s vehicle to provide relief to the public. However, the financial claims made in his speech were not independently verified.