Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced a nationwide shutter-down strike after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal over the petroleum levy and rising prices of petroleum products. He said the party would continue its campaign until the government took practical steps to address its demands.
Speaking at a press conference in Karachi, Hafiz Naeem said the Jamaat-e-Islami campaign was progressing effectively. He maintained that the government would have to reduce the prices of petroleum products to provide relief to the public.
The JI chief also criticized what he described as the influence of flour and sugar mafias in the country. He said Pakistan could not achieve economic progress while such groups continued to operate. He also raised concerns about the cost of agricultural inputs and said farmers were not receiving fertilizer at affordable prices.
Hafiz Naeem further criticized government spending, saying public money was being used to provide expensive vehicles to government officials. He argued that ordinary citizens were facing financial difficulties while state resources were being spent on privileges for officials.
Regarding the party’s ongoing protest campaign, Hafiz Naeem announced that a nationwide shutter-down strike would be held after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal. He said future negotiations with the government would be based on the implementation of the party’s demands rather than verbal assurances.
He also rejected the idea of ending the sit-ins merely on the basis of government promises. According to Hafiz Naeem, the protests would only end when the government practically accepted and implemented the Jamaat-e-Islami’s demands.
