Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday announced a nationwide strike for 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 party 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.

Turning to the Pims tragedy, the JI chief attributed the deaths of the children to government incompetence and negligence. He questioned how the government could run the country when it could not properly manage even a hospital.

Rehman questioned why adequate safety measures had not been in place at Pims and whether doctors and paramedics had been properly trained to deal with emergencies and disasters. He said there was no effective system for disaster-response training in the country.

He also questioned the formation of a committee by Pims after the prime minister had already constituted one to investigate the incident, saying the move appeared aimed at deflecting responsibility. He demanded a comprehensive investigation into the incident and said the matter could not be closed with the suspension of a single official.

Rehman reiterated that the JI’s sit-in was aimed at securing the rights of Pakistan’s 250 million people. The state, he said, was responsible for providing basic rights to citizens, but successive governments had instead burdened them with taxes.