JI announces protest against fuel price hikes

Jamaat-e-Islami has stepped up preparations for a major protest at Liaquat Bagh on Murree Road on Aug 7 against increases in petroleum product prices and the collection of taxes through the petroleum levy.

Deputy Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Rawalpindi, Raza Ahmad Shah, said the government had turned taxes on petroleum products into an easy source of revenue while failing to improve tax collection.

He said rising petrol and diesel prices had pushed essential commodities, vegetables, fruit and grocery items beyond the purchasing power of ordinary citizens. He also claimed that incidents of suicide and child killings were increasing.

He said international oil prices had fallen below the levels recorded before the Iran-Israel-US conflict and demanded that petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan be fixed at Rs225 per litre. He added that fuel prices in neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, were lower than those in Pakistan.

Shah criticised the government's practice of revising fuel prices daily, describing it as a sign of economic failure and equivalent to presenting a mini-budget every day. He called on the government to resign, alleging that domestic and foreign investment had collapsed.

He also said daily fuel price increases were placing an additional financial burden on motorcycle riders and students commuting to colleges and universities.

He warned that if the government did not end the system of daily fuel price revisions, the party would launch a sit-in demanding the rulers' removal.