JI stages protests in key cities across Pakistan against govt’s petroleum levy

WEB DESK: Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has questioned the tax burden being imposed on ordinary Pakistanis, saying landlords and other influential groups were failing to pay their due share.

Addressing a gathering, Hafiz Naeem said the people of Pakistan were going through severe hardships, with many struggling to afford even two meals a day.

He questioned how those who enjoyed free electricity and did not pay taxes could understand the difficulties faced by the common man.

Hafiz Naeem said the government was not only increasing petrol prices but also imposing additional taxes and levies on petroleum products.

“A student does not earn and has no income, yet you are imposing a levy tax on him,” he said.

He claimed that people were paying between Rs700 and Rs800 in taxes every day.

The JI emir questioned how much tax landlords affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had paid.

“Landlords do not pay their taxes, but the burden is shifted onto the people,” he said.

Hafiz Naeem said those who did not pay taxes were imposing the burden on the public, adding that the government often justified new taxes by saying they were required under agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said the JI represented the people across Pakistan and would continue to raise its voice against policies that increased the burden on ordinary citizens.

Likewise, in Peshawar, the party’s protest sit-in against the petroleum levy is scheduled to begin this evening, while party workers have continued their demonstrations against the increase in fuel prices.

Jamaat-e-Islami Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emir Abdul Wase criticised the petroleum levy, calling it an “unjust system” that has increased the burden on ordinary citizens.

He said the federal government collected Rs1.205 trillion under the petroleum levy last year, adding that the levy had placed an additional burden on farmers, labourers and the common man.

Meanwhile, the JI has set up a protest camp at Charing Cross in Lahore as part of its campaign against rising petroleum prices. Party workers arrived at Charing Cross in a rally from Masjid-i-Shuhada, with a large number of protesters gathering at the site.

Police have also deployed personnel at Charing Cross as the protest continues.