LAHORE (Web Desk): Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced a nationwide protest campaign against rising inflation, high energy costs, farmers’ economic difficulties and delays in local government elections, with a major public rally scheduled at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on November 29.
Read also: JI threatens to resume Islamabad march over petroleum levy
JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the campaign while addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Mansoorah on Wednesday.
He said the party would organise a public gathering in Quetta on November 22, followed by the Lahore rally. Similar demonstrations would subsequently be held in Peshawar and Karachi.
Rehman said the protest movement would highlight the growing financial burden on ordinary citizens, particularly due to high petroleum and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, expensive electricity and gas tariffs, and rising food costs.
He maintained that falling international oil prices should translate into meaningful relief for consumers, rather than allowing excessive profits to accumulate within the petroleum supply chain.
The JI chief also raised concerns over the prices and availability of agricultural inputs, arguing that small farmers were struggling with rising production costs and inadequate returns.
He said a 50-kilogram bag of DAP fertiliser had crossed Rs17,000, while urea supplies remained difficult to obtain in some markets. He also questioned the gap between wheat production costs and the prices received by farmers.
Rehman expressed concern over the declining area under cotton cultivation and the increasing shift towards sugarcane production. He said agricultural policies should protect small farmers and encourage the revival of important cash crops.
He further criticised the Punjab government’s handling of local government legislation and the delay in holding local government elections.
Describing the existing Punjab Local Government Act as undemocratic, he said his party had approached the courts over the delay in elections and amendments to the law. He demanded legislation that ensured timely polls and effective representation at the grassroots level.
On the petroleum levy issue, Rehman said a joint technical team comprising government and JI representatives had prepared a draft agreement following consultations between the two sides.
He said the government would review the proposed agreement before announcing further relief measures.
The JI leader maintained that his party had not withdrawn its demand for abolishing the petroleum levy. He also called for extending existing fuel relief measures to vehicles with engine capacities of up to 1,300cc, diesel-powered agricultural machinery and public transport.
He urged the government to ensure that reductions in international oil prices were passed on to consumers and called for a review of the privileges and expenditures enjoyed by political leaders and government officials.
Rehman said the party’s campaign would remain peaceful and organised, stressing that public protests should not involve violence.
The announced rallies are expected to provide JI with a platform to press its demands on economic relief, agricultural reforms and local government elections.
