Addressing party workers and march participants at Karachi’s Cantt Station, Hafiz Naeem said the protest movement would continue until the government withdrew what JI calls an “extortion” imposed through the petroleum levy.
The party has expanded its protest campaign to 42 cities, while its sit-ins in provincial capitals completed 35 days on Saturday.
JI intensified its campaign after five rounds of negotiations with the federal government failed to resolve the dispute. Hafiz Naeem has described the Islamabad march as the “final call” in the party’s campaign against the petroleum levy.
He said the first stop of the train march would be Hyderabad, where participants would continue their journey towards Islamabad.
“The government itself is forcing people to protest,” Hafiz Naeem said, alleging that government ministers participated in negotiations but failed to provide meaningful relief.
He warned that if the petroleum levy was not withdrawn, the protests would intensify and could eventually develop into a movement seeking to remove the government.
Hafiz Naeem said the party was travelling to Islamabad on behalf of the country’s 250 million people rather than for its own interests.
“We have no desire to protest in extreme heat,” he said, adding that people had been left with no other option.
The JI emir also criticised the government’s role in agreements with independent power producers (IPPs), saying government representatives had been involved in the arrangements.
According to a JI spokesperson, the march from Karachi is scheduled to receive participants and supporters at railway stations in Hyderabad, Tando Adam, Nawabshah and Mehrabpur.
The spokesperson said Hafiz Naeem would address a public gathering in Rohri at 8pm on Sunday.
The caravan is scheduled to leave Rohri for Multan on September 21, where Hafiz Naeem will address participants at the conclusion of the train journey.
A road caravan will then leave Multan for Lahore on September 22, followed by the final leg of the march from Lahore to Islamabad on September 23.
Hafiz Naeem had earlier said the march would reach Islamabad on September 23 and 24, with participants arriving in the capital from four directions. He said JI would not block roads during the protest.
The JI chief’s campaign comes after the party rejected the government’s special fuel relief scheme, arguing that the package could not replace the abolition of the petroleum levy.
He has also criticised the lack of relief on diesel prices, saying diesel plays a key role in economic activity.
