KARACHI, Sep 20 (daily paklish): Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan on Sunday launched its “Super Long March” towards Islamabad, with JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman leading a train march from Karachi against the petroleum levy.
The march began at Karachi Cantonment Railway Station, where a large number of JI workers gathered to see off their leader. Workers also assembled at Drigh Road and Landhi railway stations. The Rahman Baba Express carrying the participants departed Karachi as part of the protest campaign.
Addressing workers at the station, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said people across the country were facing severe economic difficulties while, in his words, the rulers were enjoying privileges. He said the march was not being organised for the JI or any individual but to raise issues affecting ordinary citizens. He said caravans from different parts of the country were also heading towards Islamabad and that participants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan would join the campaign.
Haifz Naeemur Rehman reiterated the JI’s demand for complete withdrawal of the petroleum levy, saying the government should not shift the burden of its economic policies onto the public. He also called for curbs on elite expenditure, smaller official vehicles and reforms in agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).
The JI chief said the party had staged a 35-day sit-in in Karachi, while protests and sit-ins were continuing in Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad and various parts of Punjab. He said the party had chosen to take to the streets because, according to him, the government had failed to address public grievances. He warned that if the petroleum levy was not abolished, the protest movement could expand and potentially turn into a campaign aimed at bringing down the government. He said the issue was not about anyone’s ego and urged the government to take credit for providing relief by withdrawing the levy. Similar warnings were reported by other news outlets as the march began.
JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan said the train march was being held against what the party calls the petroleum levy an “extortion tax”. He said the Karachi caravan would travel through Hyderabad and Rohri to Sukkur, where the party plans to hold a public gathering.
Monem Zafar criticised government spending and called for an end to what he described as excessive privileges for rulers, including free electricity and fuel. He said the JI would continue its campaign and reach Islamabad.