Published : 20 Sep 2026, 11:03 PM
Updated : 20 Sep 2026, 11:03 PM
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has launched a protest march towards Islamabad, with party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warning that if the government fails to abolish the petroleum levy, the protest could turn into a movement to oust the government, according to Dawn.
Rehman addressed supporters at Karachi's Cantonment Station before departing for Islamabad by train, with a parallel road caravan also setting off. By evening, the train had reached Tando Adam after a stop in Hyderabad, with plans to pass through Landhi, Nawabshah, Rohri and Sukkur.
Rehman said the march aimed to ease the burden on the underprivileged, accusing the government of making citizens pay for its poor governance. He demanded an end to the levy, saying petrol prices could otherwise fall to around Rs200 per litre and help revive the economy.
He claimed Pakistan's fuel prices had risen more than in any other country in the region and urged supporters to protest in person rather than online, noting that demonstrations had been ongoing for over a month across cities including Hyderabad, Sukkur, Rawalpindi and Gujarat, Dawn reported.
Rehman warned that the situation in Islamabad could spiral out of control if the government attempted to suppress the movement.
Addressing workers in Hyderabad, Rehman said the public response showed strong support for JI's campaign against the levy, adding that the party had no personal interest beyond representing the people's concerns.
He said talks with the government remained conditional on whether it offered any relief. A government delegation, including PML-N leaders Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal and Salman Rafique, met JI leadership in Lahore on Saturday, but the talks failed to resolve the impasse, the report said.
The delegation had asked JI to postpone the march citing security concerns, but JI leader Liaquat Baloch said the march would continue until the levy was withdrawn.
Talks between JI and the government began on Sept 7, with the party staging sit-ins in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and other cities since Aug 16.
Separately, Dawn also noted that PTI is scheduled to hold its own protest in Islamabad on Sept 27, demanding the release of Imran Khan and rejecting government requests to postpone its march.
