He says the protests will continue until the government provides significant relief to the people.
LAHORE:
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced nationwide protests on July 10 against the oil tax, rising fuel prices, inflation and what he called the government’s ineffective economic policies.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Rehman said the protests would continue until the government provides significant relief to the people.
Rehman slammed the government’s overall management of the energy sector, saying that although the official price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was fixed at Rs 241 per kilogram, it was sold in the market at around Rs 500/kg. He added that prolonged gas load shedding and high LPG prices were posing an additional burden on consumers.
“Affordable gas is vital for economic growth,” he stressed.
Referring to the government’s recent reduction in petrol prices, the JI leader termed the relief of Rs 1.97 per liter as “inadequate”.
He also termed the Rs 118 per liter compound tax and levy on petrol collected by the authorities as “extortion” and claimed that the government had collected around Rs 8.5 trillion, which was used to meet tax collection targets instead of improving energy supply infrastructure.
Rehman urged the public to speak out against what he described as an unfair system, saying the retail price of petrol should not exceed Rs225 per litre. He made a special appeal to young people to participate in Friday’s national protests.
He also questioned the collection of climate support tax on petroleum products and asked where he believed around Rs 60 billion collected under the tax had been spent.
He pointed out that the oil tax disproportionately affected low-income and middle-class citizens, including workers, students and motorcycle users, while influential landowners continued to evade the tax. He demanded immediate removal of the levy and reiterated that petrol prices should not exceed Rs225 per litre.
