LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced that the JI will begin a “super long march” towards Islamabad on Sep 20 if the government fails to accept its demands, particularly the complete withdrawal of the petroleum levy.

Addressing a public gathering at the JI sit-in in Lahore on Thursday, Rehman said caravans would head towards the federal capital from Karachi, Quetta, Chitral, Kalam, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and other parts of the country. He said a caravan travelling by train from Karachi would pass through Multan and Lahore before reaching Islamabad. The announcement comes after 33 days of JI sit-ins and protests against the petroleum levy in several cities. The JI has already announced Sept 20 as the date for its Islamabad march.

Rehman said the prolonged campaign had created awareness among people and generated hope that their economic problems could be addressed through political struggle. He said the movement was not aimed at serving the interests of any individual or political party but at raising issues faced by the wider population.

He said the JI negotiating team had held four rounds of talks with the government but the authorities continued to cite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a reason for retaining the petroleum levy. “The government has to abolish the petroleum levy,” he said, warning that failure to address public demands would intensify the movement.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2026