LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan on Wednesday announced the third phase of its long march towards Islamabad from October 23 to press the government to abolish the petroleum levy and provide relief to the public.
JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch said the third phase of the Islamabad long march would begin on October 23, with protest demonstrations to be held at all district headquarters across the country on the same day.
Baloch described JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman’s call for nationwide protests as a timely move, reiterating that the party would continue its struggle for the withdrawal of the petroleum levy and relief for the people.
He said the government had proposed that the negotiating committees of both sides meet before a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.
Baloch urged the two negotiating committees to finalise their recommendations at the earliest, saying JI had so far received no information about any progress by the government’s negotiating team.
He maintained that the party would not back down from its principled and constitutional position on public issues.
JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had announced a long march towards Islamabad on September 20 to protest against the petroleum levy. However, the party later postponed the march following a telephone call from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Addressing a press conference in Multan, Hafiz Naeem said the march had been temporarily postponed at the prime minister’s request, following his assurance that he would meet the JI leadership after returning home to find a solution to the issue.
However, the proposed meeting has yet to take place.
Earlier, addressing party workers in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said JI had not deviated from its existing strategy.
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He said no political party had raised its voice over the petroleum levy when JI began highlighting the issue, adding that the public had been largely unaware of the levy a few months earlier.
Hafiz Naeem maintained that the levy was unrelated to the actual price of petrol and described it as a “jaga tax”.
The JI chief said the party had blocked roads, staged sit-ins, organised rallies and strikes, and launched a long march, adding that it had not abandoned its protest movement.