Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced a fresh nationwide protest programme against the government’s petroleum levy and rising inflation, escalating its campaign after more than a week of demonstrations
in major cities.
JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the roadmap for the next phase of the agitation, saying the party will observe a countrywide shutdown strike after 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, on August 26, followed by a long march towards Islamabad.
The announcement marks an escalation in the party’s ongoing anti-inflation campaign, with JI protesters already holding demonstrations and sit-ins in cities including Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
What Has JI Announced?
The party’s next phase of agitation is expected to include a nationwide shutdown strike on August 26, countrywide protests and sit-ins against the petroleum levy, a subsequent long march towards Islamabad, and continued mobilisation until the government agrees to the party’s demands.
Hafiz Naeem has warned that the protests will not be called off unless the government addresses the demands raised by the party.
The announcement comes after JI’s anti-petroleum levy protests entered their ninth day in several parts of the country.
Why Is Jamaat-e-Islami Protesting?
The immediate trigger is the government’s petroleum levy, which adds to the price consumers pay for petrol and other petroleum products.
JI has linked the levy to the broader cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation, arguing that ordinary Pakistanis are being forced to bear an increasing burden through higher fuel and energy costs.
Fuel prices have a particularly wide impact in Pakistan because changes in petroleum prices feed into transportation costs and, subsequently, the prices of food and other essential goods.
The party has therefore sought to turn the petroleum levy into a broader anti-inflation issue.
From City Protests To Nationwide Shutdown
The latest announcement represents a shift from localised demonstrations to a coordinated national campaign.
The protests have already been staged in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar, while JI has been mobilising supporters against the government’s economic policies.
The proposed shutdown is intended to widen participation by moving the campaign beyond protest sites and into commercial centres and transport networks.
A subsequent march towards Islamabad would take the confrontation directly to the federal government.
JI also plans to hold Milad gatherings around 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal before moving into the next phase of its protest campaign. The timing gives the party a religious and organisational mobilisation platform before the nationwide strike planned for August 26.
After the gatherings, the party plans to intensify its political mobilisation and prepare supporters for the proposed Islamabad march.
