Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned on Monday, October 26, that his party will march on Islamabad "with full force" in mid-November if Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif does not abolish the petroleum levy.
Addressing a press conference, Rehman said the JI had so far been patient and acted responsibly given the international situation, but "now, the responsible thing to do is for us to be aggressive." If the prime minister offered no relief and took no steps on the levy, he said, the march would go ahead.
The party has spent more than two months demanding the removal of levies of Rs114 per litre on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel, as fuel prices have surged since March amid conflicts in the Middle East. "The levy has nothing to do with petrol's price," Rehman said.
Talks with the government
A day earlier, the JI said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Special Assistant to the PM Rana Sanaullah had contacted Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, and that a meeting between Rehman and the prime minister would be held within two days. Rehman said the party had never refused a meeting, but did not want one that was merely for show, and that talks would achieve nothing without something tangible.
He also dismissed the relief scheme announced in September, which gave Rs100 per litre off a monthly quota of 20 litres for motorcycles and rickshaws and 30 litres for cars up to 800cc, saying it left out many motorists and public transport and did nothing about grocery prices driven up by costlier diesel.
The JI launched a march on Islamabad on September 20, but postponed it on September 22, when its convoy had reached Multan, after the prime minister promised a meeting. Read about the earlier phase of the protest.