JI chief Hafiz Naeem warns of march on Islamabad over petroleum levy

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has accused the government of fooling the people over petroleum product pricing adding that consumers are being charged extra sums in the name of petroleum levy.

BUNER: Hafiz Naeem, addressing a public meeting in Buner, said that the relief package announced by the prime minister was not enough and requested the government to rescind the fee imposed on petroleum goods. “If the levy is not taken back, hundreds of thousands of people will march toward Islamabad,” he said. Jamaat-e-Islami is ready for a long sit-in and ongoing fight if government did not satisfy its demand, he added.

Hafiz Naeem remarked that the rulers were putting extra load on the impoverished people by calling International Monetary Fund (IMF) without cutting down their own lavish spending. He added the IMF has not requested the government to raise a tax from the public. Jamaat-e-Islami believed in political process and negotiations. The party has already presented its viewpoint in many rounds of talks with the government,” he added.

He claimed the deadline assigned to the administration was expired and requested that petroleum levy be repealed regardless of the prime minister agreeing to meet him. Otherwise, he said, people would be taking to Islamabad and Jamaat-e-Islami was ready for a long sit-in.

“The struggle of Jamaat-e-Islami is not for any political leader or family but for the rights of 250 million people,” Hafiz Naeem stated. He said henceforth political parties would be held accountable to the public issues and anyone who wanted to enter into politics would have to become a voice of the people.

JI emir said there were sugar, flour, petroleum and land mafias and other prominent elements who had a strong grip on the country and such elements had remained associated with administrations at different periods. He claimed that public had started to realize what he saw as an apparent relationship between big political parties and mafias.

“On one hand, the government is paying billions of rupees to refineries while in contrast, an additional cost is being put on consumers. He asked why Rs80 petroleum charge and Rs5 climate support levy were being collected on every liter of petrol. He said billions of rupees were collected but enough had not been done to improve refineries and safeguard the environment.

Hafiz Naeem further stated that Rs1,300 billion corruption takes place annually in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and that the burden imposed by flaws in the tax collection system was being passed to the public. Rulers were not cutting their own perks and expenses, he claimed.