LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday said the JI’s sit-in against the petroleum levy and rising fuel prices will continue until the government accept their demands, warning that any attempt to block the protest will turn it into a movement to bring down the government.

Addressing participants of the sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House on The Mall, Mr Rehman described the petroleum levy as an “extortionist” and “jagga tax”, saying the government was increasing both the price of petrol and the taxes imposed on it.

He said the rulers should cut their own expenditures and privileges instead of extracting more money from ordinary citizens. The JI on Sunday launched a fresh wave of nationwide protests and sit-ins across Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta, escalating its ongoing campaign against inflation, skyrocketing fuel prices, and the federal petroleum levy.

In Lahore, party workers marched down The Mall before establishing a sit-in camp at Charing Cross near the Chief Minister’s House. Addressing the crowd alongside Punjab JI Chief Javed Qasuri, the JI emir slammed the government’s tax policies and pointed out the contrast between heavy taxation on the salaried class – who paid nearly Rs700 billion – and tax exemptions enjoyed by wealthy landlords.

Demanding an immediate reduction in petrol prices to Rs225 per liter, Mr Naeem asserted that the party would no longer tolerate a system that exploits ordinary citizens to maintain ruling-class privileges.

Major sit-ins simultaneously paralysed key provincial hubs across the country. In Karachi, protesters led by JI Karachi Chief Munim Zafar marched to the Governor House to stage a massive demonstration.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Zafar warned authorities against using force and criticised the petroleum levy for heavily burdening students and youth, while taking aim at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over unresolved civic issues like the city’s severe water crisis.

In Peshawar, demonstrators staged blockades outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor House, closing the main artery between Saddar and the KP Assembly Chowk ahead of an address by JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch.

At the same time, a parallel sit-in unfolded outside the Governor House in Quetta. These coordinated provincial sit-ins mark the latest escalation in JI’s broader anti-inflation movement, aimed at forcing the federal government to roll back energy taxes, reduce fuel prices, and curb excessive state expenditures.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026