JI train march reaches Rahim Yar Khan as Hafiz Naeem demands levy withdrawal

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami’s (JI) train march against the petroleum levy reached Rahim Yar Khan on Monday as party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said negotiations with the government were continuing but the protest would proceed if no agreement was reached.

The train march, which began from Karachi on Sunday, is scheduled to reach Multan on Monday night, marking the completion of its first phase.

The JI will then shift to a road caravan from Multan to Lahore on Tuesday before beginning the final leg towards Islamabad on Wednesday.

Addressing supporters and media during the journey in Ghotki, Hafiz Naeem said the party had made only one demand: that the government should provide relief to the people by immediately withdrawing the petroleum levy.

“Talks are continuing,” he said, adding that the JI had demanded the immediate abolition of the levy.

“If there is an agreement, that is fine. Otherwise, we have already moved ahead,” he said.

Hafiz Naeem said that the party had entered the second phase of its protest after completing the first phase, adding that the movement was now progressing towards Multan.

He said caravans had also started moving from Balochistan and other parts of the country towards Islamabad.

The JI chief has repeatedly rejected the government’s targeted fuel-relief proposal as insufficient and has maintained that the petroleum levy itself should be abolished.

The party has held several rounds of talks with the government, but the two sides have failed to reach an agreement on the levy.

The JI launched its train march from Karachi on Sunday, with Hafiz Naeem warning that the protest could intensify if the government failed to withdraw the levy.

He has also said the movement could turn into one aimed at removing the government if its demand is not met.

The march faced a delay on Monday after the Shalimar Express, which was to carry the protesters from Sukkur towards Multan, was delayed by several hours.

Pakistan Railways attributed the delay to an engine fault that had developed in Tando Adam.

The JI says its broader protest campaign against the petroleum levy has been under way for several weeks, with demonstrations and sit-ins in different parts of the country.

The movement comes as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) prepares for its own protest and planned march on Islamabad on September 27, increasing security preparations in and around the capital.

Authorities have already begun deploying additional security personnel and making arrangements for the expected political mobilisations.