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Aug 28, 2026
JI Announces Nationwide Strike on Sept 3 against Petroleum Levy
Lahore: Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday announced a nationwide strike on Sept 3 against the petroleum levy , warning the government that if relief was not provided to the people, the ongoing sit-in campaign could culminate in a long march on Islamabad.
“The rulers have neither a vision nor the ability to govern. Their only vision is to loot the people,” Rehman said while addressing participants of the JI sit-in outside the Punjab chief minister’s house in Lahore.
He said the protest movement was no longer confined to three cities, with sit-ins and demonstrations now being held in several parts of the country.
The JI chief urged party workers and supporters to intensify their struggle, saying the government was testing the patience of the people. He also appealed to traders to support the Sept 3 nationwide strike in the interest of public rights.
The JI chief said a major public gathering would be held in Faisalabad on Friday and indicated that the protest movement would be intensified in the coming days.
Announcing the Sept 3 strike, Rehman said it would remain peaceful, stressing that “not even a flowerpot will be broken”. However, he warned that the government would have to accept the people’s demands.
He said the JI’s campaign was not limited to the ongoing sit-ins but was part of a broader struggle against independent power producers (IPPs), the petroleum levy and the flour mafia.
Rehman demanded the abolition of the petroleum levy and termination of what he called unjust IPP agreements . He also called for lower electricity and petrol prices for traders.
He said the JI’s previous protests had secured relief for consumers in electricity prices and that the government must now provide similar relief on petroleum products. - Dawn
Courtesy Dawn
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