PESHAWAR: Jamaat-i-Islami on Tuesday continued its sit-in outside the Governor’s House for the third consecutive day against the unprecedented hike in petroleum prices, with party workers and people from Hazara division joining the protest.

The indefinite sit-in was launched on the call of JI Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman as part of simultaneous protests being held outside governor houses in three provinces and the Punjab Chief Minister’s House in Lahore.

Addressing a press conference at the protest camp before the start of the third day’s protest, JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Central President Abdul Wasay, along with JI Hazara head Abdul Razzaq Abbasi, announced that Hafiz Naeemur Rehman would make an important announcement at the Peshawar sit-in today (Wednesday).

The JI leaders criticised the government for increasing petroleum prices despite inviting the opposition and political parties for negotiations.

The speakers said the government’s policy of repeatedly increasing petroleum prices was tantamount to dropping a petrol bomb on the people and warned that it would have serious consequences.

Mr Abbasi warned that if the government failed to reduce petroleum prices and abolish the petroleum levy, the JI would march towards Islamabad.

The speakers asked the government to abandon the policy of favouring the elite and burdening the poor.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2026