LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday announced peaceful sit-ins against the petroleum levy at 510 locations across the country on Friday, warning that the protests would transform into a movement to overthrow the government if authorities attempted to stop them.

Addressing a protest rally by the JI Women’s Wing on Wahdat Road in Lahore against rising petroleum prices and inflation, Rehman said major roads linking districts across Pakistan would be blocked from 4pm onwards; however, ambulances would be allowed to pass without interruption.

“If obstacles are created or our peaceful protest against the petroleum levy is blocked, this campaign will turn into an anti-government movement,” he said, demanding that the price of petrol be reduced to Rs225 per litre.

JI Lahore Emir Advocate Ziauddin Ansari, Women’s Wing President Dr Humaira Tariq, Samiha Raheel Qazi, Samina Saeed and Uzma Imran also addressed the gathering.

Rehman urged the government to accept the public’s demands, warning that it would bear full responsibility for any consequences if it failed to respond.

He described the petroleum levy as “extortion” rather than a tax, claiming that the government was collecting Rs125 in taxes on every litre of petrol from ordinary citizens while continuing lavish spending on luxury aircraft and expensive official vehicles. “Enough is enough,” he said.

The JI chief argued that petroleum prices had been increased by citing global market conditions during regional conflicts but were not reduced after international crude oil prices fell to $74 per barrel.

“The government had collected Rs8 trillion through the petroleum levy without investing any of it in upgrading oil refineries or petroleum infrastructure,” he alleged.

“The economy can recover if the government abolishes the petroleum levy,” Rehman asserted.

The JI chief said the ruling coalition was disconnected from the hardships faced by ordinary Pakistanis, adding that women were struggling to manage household kitchens due to soaring inflation and, in many cases, were being forced to sell their jewellery to support their families.

He also criticised unequal access to education, an unresponsive bureaucracy and restrictions on public dissent, arguing that the country’s governance system had become dysfunctional.

The JI chief said that the government had become subservient to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), adding it was imposing taxes and approving an anti-people budget while ignoring recommendations to reduce state expenditures.

Reiterating that Friday’s demonstrations would remain peaceful, he called on people from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to participate in large numbers.

“I urged young people to bring their motorcycles onto the roads and join the sit-ins,” he said, adding major highways would be blocked peacefully to pressure the government into withdrawing the petroleum levy.