Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has intensified his campaign against the federal government, calling for a long march on Islamabad on September 20 to demand the withdrawal of the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL). He cautioned that the party’s protest movement would move into a more serious stage if authorities refuse to withdraw the charge.
Addressing supporters at a rally in Gujranwala on Friday, Rehman said JI workers would converge on the capital in vehicle convoys from across the country, framing the march as a response to growing public frustration over fuel costs.
Warning Over the Long March Timeline
Rehman made clear that if the levy remains active by the time the march reaches Islamabad, ordinary citizens would settle the issue directly on the capital’s streets. He added that continued inaction from the government could push JI toward a broader campaign aimed at removing the ruling setup altogether.
At present, the federal government levies Rs114 per litre in taxes on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel. The announcement coincided with the 27th consecutive day of JI sit-ins against the levy in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, and numerous other cities. Rehman said these demonstrations would be scaled up further, and confirmed he would speak at a women’s gathering in Islamabad on Saturday.
Before the rally, Rehman led a strategy session with JI leaders from around the country at Mansoorah in Lahore to map out the next phase of the movement. He described JI as a rising political alternative, positioning it as a source of hope for citizens disillusioned with successive ruling parties.
Criticism of Elite Control and Punjab Government
Rehman accused the bureaucracy, feudal landowners, and influential families of controlling Pakistan’s political and economic systems at the expense of ordinary workers, pointing to child labour and lack of access to education as consequences of this imbalance.
He also took aim at the Punjab government’s record on violence against women, claiming that although roughly 6,500 cases had been filed in the province, convictions remained rare. Referring to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s recent remarks that she personally paid for a trip to London aboard a government plane, Rehman urged her to submit a full account of her income and expenses to the Federal Board of Revenue.
He further alleged that the Sharif and Zardari families had played a role in the ongoing exploitation of the poor, claiming more than 40 percent of Punjab’s population lives in poverty.
Petroleum Levy Revenue and Broader Economic Demands
On the petroleum levy itself, Rehman claimed the government had collected Rs1,567 billion from the public through the charge, calling it an unjustified burden at a time when millions of Pakistanis still lack adequate healthcare and education. He also criticised decades of government policy, dating back to the 1990s, that he said favoured independent power producers, arguing that the state should cut its own spending instead of raising taxes on citizens.
Rehman questioned why the federal government continues to fund departments and functions that were meant to be handed over to the provinces following the 18th Amendment. He also renewed calls to eliminate interest-based financial practices, citing a Federal Shariat Court ruling, and argued that even a partial move away from interest payments could save the national treasury a substantial sum.
According to Rehman, JI had already raised these concerns with the government during talks but received no meaningful response, adding that if the rulers fail to answer the public’s questions, the public would now seek those answers on its own terms.
JI first announced plans for province-wide sit-ins against the petroleum levy on August 16, and later called a nationwide strike on September 3.
