Says demonstrations would continue until the government provided meaningful relief to the public
LAHORE:
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced nationwide protests on July 10 against the petroleum tax, rising fuel prices, inflation and what he called the government’s ineffective economic policies.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Rehman said the demonstrations would continue until the government provided meaningful relief to the public.
Lamenting the government’s overall handling of the energy sector, Rehman alleged that though the official price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was fixed at Rs241 per kilogram, it was being sold in the market at around Rs500/kg. He added that prolonged gas leakage and high LPG prices were an additional burden on consumers.
“Affordable gas is critical to economic growth,” he stressed.
Referring to the government’s recent cut in petrol prices, the JI leader called the reduction of Rs1.97 per liter “inadequate”.
He also described the Rs118-per-litre in compound taxes and duties on petrol collected by the authorities as “extortion” and claimed that the government collected about Rs8.5 trillion which was used to meet tax collection targets instead of improving energy supply infrastructure.
Rehman urged the public to stand up against what he described as an unfair system, arguing that the retail price of petrol should not exceed Rs 225 per litre. He made a special appeal to the young people to participate in Friday’s nationwide protests.
He also contested the levy of climate support tax on petroleum products and asked where, according to him, approximately Rs.60 billion collected under the tax had been spent.
He highlighted that the oil tax disproportionately hit low-income and middle-class citizens, including workers, students and motorcycle users, while influential landowners continued to evade taxation. Demanding an immediate abolition of the tax, he reiterated that petrol prices should not exceed Rs 225 per litre.
