LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has called for a decisive nationwide public campaign against petroleum levy, saying the party’s protest on Friday (tomorrow) will be a historic demonstration of people’s power.

In a statement issued from Mansoorah on Wednesday, Mr Rehman said millions of people would take to the streets, stage sit-ins on major highways, and block inter-district roads to press the government to provide relief to the public.

He said preparations for the nationwide protest had entered the final phase, with JI leaders and workers across the country mobilising the public through corner meetings, awareness campaigns, and extensive outreach.

According to Rehman, the movement was not politically motivated but sought to defend the rights of ordinary Pakistanis facing soaring inflation, unemployment, and heavy taxation.

The JI chief also announced that he would address a protest rally organised by the party’s women’s wing on Lahore’s Wahdat Road on August 6. He said women would also raise their voices against what he described as the government’s anti-people economic policies.

Appealing to the youth, Mr Rehman urged motorcyclists to join the protest on August 7 by peacefully parking their motorcycles on major highways. He emphasised that the demonstrations would remain peaceful and that ambulances and other emergency service vehicles would be allowed to pass without obstruction.

He warned the government against interfering with the public’s constitutional and democratic right to peaceful protest, saying any attempt to suppress the movement would be the sole responsibility of the authorities.

Mr Rehman also directed party office-bearers to intensify mobilisation efforts by engaging religious scholars, traders, lawyers, students, labourers, farmers, civil society representatives, and other segments of society ahead of the protest.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026