Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday announced a nationwide shutter-down strike after 12th Rabi ul Awal, as the party’s sit-ins in provincial capitals over the petroleum levy entered their eighth day.
12th Rabi ul Awal, the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar, marks Eid Milad un Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him), commemorating the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and falls on August 26 this year.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said the party’s campaign was progressing “in the best possible manner” and demanded that the federal government reduce petroleum product pricese said the country could not progress in the presence of flour and sugar mafias, while farmers were also struggling to obtain fertiliser at affordable prices.
“Government officials are driving expensive vehicles with our money,” the JI chief said, criticising the government spending.
Hafiz Naeem said the party would launch a nationwide shutter-down strike after Eid Milad un Nabi (PBUH), making it clear that the protests would not end merely on government assurances.
He said negotiations would no longer take place on the basis of the government asking protesters to end their sit-ins in return for promises to meet their demands.
“The sit-in will end only when the government implements our demands in practical terms,” he said.
The JI protests come amid growing public concern over rising fuel prices, inflation and soaring electricity bills. Supporters have been staging sit-ins since August 16 outside the Punjab chief minister’s residence in Lahore and governor houses in Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar.
The federal government is facing mounting pressure over successive fuel price increases and their impact on inflation.
The pressure has intensified after authorities shifted from a 15-day fuel price review to a daily mechanism amid volatility in global oil prices following renewed hostilities in the Middle East.
The fuel price dispute has also triggered protests and demands from transporters and petroleum dealers.
Earlier this week, the All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance suspended its nine-day nationwide strike for 40 days after receiving assurances from the federal and Sindh governments on key demands, including petroleum pricing.
The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association had also issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the government earlier this month, seeking resolution of outstanding issues and implementation of commitments made by the petroleum minister.
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