JI announces nationwide road blockades on Aug 7 over petroleum levy

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced countrywide road blockades and sit-ins on Aug 7 as the party moves into the second phase of its campaign against the petroleum levy and inflation.

Speaking at a press conference in Mansoorah, Rehman said JI workers and supporters would stage sit-ins on roads linking districts across the country, with ambulances to be allowed through. He also said the party would hold 20,000 corner meetings nationwide before Aug 7 to build support for the protest drive.

The JI campaign is calling for the immediate withdrawal of the petroleum levy, an end to what the party describes as costly agreements with independent power producers, and steps to control inflation and power outages. The government had announced a petroleum and carbon levy on June 14, 2025, under a firm commitment with the International Monetary Fund.

Rehman warned the government against trying to suppress the protest movement through what he called undemocratic means, saying such a response would turn the anti-inflation campaign into a movement aimed at removing the government. He urged people to join the Aug 7 demonstrations and specifically asked young people to bring their motorcycles onto the roads to strengthen the blockade.

Criticising the government’s decision to let the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority adjust petroleum prices on a daily basis, he termed the measure deceptive and questioned Ogra’s authority over the petroleum levy and other taxes charged on every litre of fuel. He said the public was being burdened through the levy and claimed that if the levy and other taxes were removed, petrol would retail for less than Rs200 per litre.

He also said the rulers should cut their own privileges and spending instead of placing further financial pressure on citizens. Rehman called on the provincial governments to bring food prices back to the levels seen before the Iran-US conflict.

Turning to provincial matters, the JI chief criticised the Punjab government and said poverty in the province had risen by 41 per cent over the past six years. He further alleged that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had sold 11,000 schools and bought an aircraft costing Rs11 billion for herself. He also criticised lawmakers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying they had passed legislation granting themselves unlimited benefits.

Rehman also targeted the Pakistan Peoples Party, describing it as the establishment’s "A-plus team"

He asked PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to tell the public who had been in power in Azad Jammu and Kashmir before making statements that, in his view, misled people.

On the security situation, Rehman expressed concern over worsening conditions in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and urged the government to pursue dialogue to address the issues. He said JI was engaging different stakeholders on Balochistan and hoped a grand jirga would be convened soon.

He also welcomed talks between state institutions and the Joint Action Committee in Azad Kashmir, saying JI had consistently supported dialogue to resolve the issue and had itself tried to facilitate negotiations, though he said the government had not responded to the party’s efforts.

Rehman said the second phase of the protest campaign had been launched after internal consultations and would continue until the party’s demands were met. He added that JI planned to engage religious scholars, traders, lawyers, students, civil society and other groups to widen support for the movement.

Rehman has repeatedly criticised recent increases in petroleum prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, calling them an added burden on ordinary people. Earlier this month, JI activists held demonstrations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against fuel prices and inflation, after rallies across the province last month over higher electricity, gas and petroleum prices as well as budget-related taxes. In May, Rehman approached the Federal Constitutional Court against the petroleum levy, arguing that the government had given itself unchecked authority to tax citizens through executive notifications without parliamentary oversight.

JI deputy secretaries Nazir Janjua, Waqas Jafri and Azhar Iqbal Hassan, Lahore emir Ziauddin Ansari, and party Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi were also present at the press conference.