- Govt asked for permission for Islamabad protest: JI chief.
- JI’s only demand is to abolish petroleum levy: Hafiz Naeem.
- Hafiz Naeem terms govt’s fuel relief package insufficient.
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Friday said that the party’s march will reach Islamabad on September 23 and 24 and a train march will leave Karachi on September 20.
Addressing a press conference in the federal capital, the JI chief said that people would begin arriving in Islamabad from all four directions on September 20, while clarifying that the party would not block roads.
“We are coming to get relief, not to lay hands on anyone,” he said, adding that the government had been asked to grant permission for the protest.
“Our only demand is to abolish the levy,” he said, arguing that major political parties were not addressing the issues faced by ordinary Pakistanis.
Rehman said that the government had agreed to demands during their negotiations but had not implemented them.
The JI chief’s remarks come days after the party rejected the government’s special fuel relief scheme, saying that the package cannot be a substitute for abolition of petroleum levy.
The federal government has launched a special relief scheme providing Rs100 per litre discount on petrol for motorcyclists, rickshaw and chingchi owners and drivers of vehicles up to 800cc.
Under the relief scheme, owners and users of motorcycles, rickshaws and other two and three-wheeled vehicles will receive Rs100 per litre relief on up to 20 litres of petrol per month.
Owners of small vehicles up to 800cc engine capacity will receive Rs100 per litre relief on up to 30 litres of petrol per month.
During his presser today, the JI chief said that the government had announced the relief package without proper working and called the announced relief “insufficient”.
“The government’s approach is to give relief to the people as charity, not their right,” he added.
He said reducing the petroleum levy could have provided relief to everyone, while claiming that the government had collected more than its levy target. He also criticised the absence of relief on diesel, saying it drives the country’s economic activity.
He also said the party was in contact with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and had supported their protests, while PTI supporters had backed the JI’s planned march.
“If the government has any mechanism to provide relief, let us talk today,” he said.
Addressing MDCAT candidates, Rehman said that the party wanted their test to take place and assured them that there would be no obstruction.
