LARKANA : On the call of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, the Larkana district chapter of Jamaat-e-Islami organised a rally and protest demonstration against the rising prices of petrol and diesel at the city’s main Jinnah Bagh Chowk.
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and workers carrying banners and party flags raised strong slogans during the protest.
Addressing the rally, JI Larkana District Emir Advocate Nadir Ali Khoso, Rameez Raja Sheikh, Advocate Ashiq Dhamrah and others said that the government’s incompetence had pushed the people into an unprecedented inflationary crisis. They said the increase in petrol prices had caused transportation, food and other commodity prices to rise, placing the heaviest burden on the poor.
They said Jamaat-e-Islami, under the leadership of Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, was continuously raising its voice for the rights of the people. They added that the party was currently protesting across the country against repeated increases in petroleum product prices and the petroleum levy, including through strikes.
The JI leaders demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Rs125-per-litre levy being collected as a tax on petrol and called for the petrol price to be fixed at Rs225 per litre. They warned that otherwise Jamaat-e-Islami would intensify its movement in support of the people.
They said the government had deprived the poor of their right to live by repeatedly increasing petrol prices. Despite lower oil prices in the international market, they said, a heavy petroleum levy had been imposed on the people of Pakistan.
The speakers also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the petroleum levy and what they termed unjustified taxes included in electricity bills. They warned that the protest movement would be intensified if the government failed to provide relief to the people.
During the protest, Larkana police detained several JI leaders and workers and released them after some time.
Meanwhile, due to the Jamaat-e-Islami strike, major commercial centres of the city remained completely closed for several hours.
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