JI sets Sept 20 Islamabad march after petroleum levy talks stall

Jamaat-e-Islami emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has announced that his party will march towards Islamabad on September 20 after negotiations with the government failed to produce an agreement on its demands, including the withdrawal of the petroleum levy. Speaking during a sit-in in Lahore, he said the party would move ahead with the planned mobilisation despite several rounds of talks.

Hafiz Naeem said convoys from different parts of Pakistan would participate in the march on the federal capital. He identified Karachi, Quetta, Chitral, Kalam and several areas of Punjab among the locations from where supporters were expected to begin their journeys as part of the planned nationwide mobilisation.

A separate train march is also planned from Karachi, with participants expected to travel towards Islamabad through Multan and Lahore. The announcement indicates that the party intends to combine road and rail mobilisation as it seeks to increase pressure on the federal government ahead of the September 20 demonstration.

The dispute centres largely on the petroleum levy and the broader cost burden facing consumers. Hafiz Naeem argued that rising fuel-related charges were adding financial pressure on households and said poorer and salaried sections of society were carrying a disproportionate share of taxation. He reiterated his demand that the petroleum levy be abolished and that consumers receive additional relief through lower petrol prices.

According to the party chief, four rounds of negotiations with the government have not resulted in an effective response to the demands presented by his party. He said the government remained unwilling to accept the proposals, prompting the decision to continue protest activity and proceed with the Islamabad march. The government's position on the latest announcement was not detailed in the reported remarks.

Hafiz Naeem also pointed to the participation of women and children in ongoing sit-ins and claimed public involvement in the protest campaign was increasing. His statements place fuel taxation and household expenses at the centre of the party's current political campaign, with the planned march representing the next major stage of its pressure strategy.

Attention will now turn to preparations for September 20, including the movement of convoys from different provinces and the planned train journey from Karachi. Any further negotiations between the government and the party before the march could affect how the mobilisation proceeds, but the announced plan remains to head towards Islamabad unless progress is made on the disputed demands.