JI announces nationwide wheel-jam strike after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced a nationwide wheel-jam strike after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal if the government fails to accept the party’s demands, particularly regarding the petroleum levy and fuel prices.

Speaking to the media during the JI sit-in on Mall Road, Hafiz Naeem said the party’s protest movement would continue and warned that the country would be brought to a standstill after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal.

He said the strike would be held across the country against the petroleum levy and urged people to join the campaign against what he described as exploitation by powerful mafias controlling essential commodities.

Hafiz Naeem demanded a reduction in petroleum prices and said the petroleum levy should not become an additional burden on consumers.

He warned that the JI would march towards Islamabad if the government failed to meet its demands.

The JI chief also criticised the petroleum pricing mechanism, alleging that consumers were being charged higher rates while a few people were making huge profits from petroleum products.

He referred to reports that locally produced diesel was being sold at prices applicable to imported diesel, calling the practice exploitation of consumers.

Hafiz Naeem said the JI had no objection to government committees examining the issue but demanded that such committees should identify concrete measures to reduce petroleum prices.

He rejected claims that the ongoing protests were contributing to higher fuel prices, saying the JI’s campaign had forced the government to reduce diesel prices by around Rs30 to Rs32 per litre.

The JI chief also criticised government expenditure, saying taxpayers’ money was being spent on expensive vehicles and facilities for senior officials.

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He called for a reduction in government spending instead of increasing the financial burden on ordinary citizens.

Hafiz Naeem also expressed concern over the agriculture sector in Punjab, claiming cotton production had declined by around 50 per cent compared with the previous year and farmers were facing difficulties in obtaining fertiliser at affordable prices.

The announcement of the nationwide wheel-jam strike marks an escalation in the JI’s protest campaign over fuel prices, petroleum taxation and the rising cost of living.