KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday announced the launch of the third phase of the party’s campaign against the petroleum levy, which he called an “extortion tax” with sit-ins and demonstrations at more than 150 locations across the country.
“Our clear demand is the abolition of the petroleum levy. If the government fails to provide relief to the people, we will announce a long march to Islamabad,” while speaking at a press briefing and the inauguration of Sheikh Saadi Model School in New Karachi Town following its renovation by the town’s municipal corporation.
Hafiz Naeem said motorists were paying around Rs130 in taxes on every litre of petrol, including Rs80 as petroleum levy, describing the burden as economic terrorism by the government. He said petrol prices could fall by more than Rs100 if the tax burden were removed. Around 25 million people in Pakistan use motorcycles, he said that the government’s relief package was no more than a drop in the ocean compared with the needs of the people.
He said people were facing severe inflation, but no political party appeared to be raising an effective voice against the problem. JI had launched a nationwide campaign against inflation and harsh taxes, holding sit-ins and demonstrations to press for relief. Criticizing the PML-N, PPP and MQM, he said the parties had failed to resolve public issues. Karachi’s residents wanted solutions to their problems and the provision of basic facilities, he added. JI would continue its struggle for the city’s development in line with the public trust and mandate.
Speaking about education, Hafiz Naeem said the establishment of Sheikh Saadi Model School was an important step towards providing quality education. JI was using its limited municipal resources for public welfare, he added. “Education is the right of every child, not charity. The Constitution guarantees quality education, but the condition of government schools in Sindh is extremely poor. Most have become ghost schools,” he said.
He said JI had pledged to work beyond its limited powers and resources, and its elected local government representatives were fulfilling that promise. Work was under way to rebuild schools, restore parks, carpet roads and carry out other development projects. However, he alleged, the PPP-led provincial government was creating hurdles instead of providing funds. The JI chief said New Karachi Town had paid Rs210 million in outstanding dues to government employees from previous administrations, including Rs40 million owed to teachers.
He said the provincial government’s ban on recruiting new teachers had prevented town administrations from hiring teaching staff. While the government itself made appointments on political grounds, it was unwilling to create employment opportunities for Karachi’s youth, he alleged. The PPP took resources from Karachi but denied the city its due rights, he added.
He said that JI’s Bano Qabil information technology programme had expanded across the country, with around 1.7 million young people registered. Thousands had become self-employed after receiving IT training. Such work should be undertaken by governments, but JI was taking practical steps despite its limited resources to equip young people with skills and help them secure dignified employment, Hafiz Naeem said and also criticized the rising cost of essential food items, saying a 10kg bag of flour was selling for Rs2,000 in Karachi.
He said the government was talking about importing 500,000 tonnes of wheat to address the crisis, although the need for imports had arisen from its agricultural policies and injustice towards farmers. These policies had contributed to a wheat crisis that was now forcing the country to import the commodity he added and challenged the Sindh government to name a government school where Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would be willing to educate a member of his family, or a public hospital where he would choose to seek medical treatment.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026