ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami Women Wing Islamabad staged a protest demonstration outside the National Press Club Islamabad against the petroleum levy as part of the countrywide protest movement launched on the call of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.
A large number of women from different areas of the federal capital participated in the demonstration. The protesters were carrying placards, flags and banners inscribed with demands for an end to inflation and abolition of the petroleum levy.
The protest was addressed by Jamaat-e-Islami Islamabad Ameer Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa, former member of the National Assembly and Deputy General Secretary of JI Women Wing Ayesha Syed, Iffat Sajjad and Islamabad Nazima Qudsia Namoos.
Speaking on the occasion, Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa said the petroleum levy and the current economic policies had become an unbearable burden on the people. He said around Rs150 was being collected on every litre of petrol in the form of petroleum levy, which was causing a continuous rise in the prices of essential commodities.
He said the national economy had been trapped in an unjust system. According to him, Rs1,600 billion was collected last year under the petroleum levy, while Rs3,400 billion was paid to independent power producers during the same period.
Randhawa said that out of the Rs16,000 billion federal budget, Rs8,300 billion was spent on interest payments. He added that out of the total Rs83,000 billion debt, Rs62,000 billion had been obtained by the rulers from their own banks.
He alleged that the owners of banks and IPPs were present in parliament, and the people were paying the price in the form of inflation.
The JI Islamabad chief said the party’s protest movement would be expanded further. He announced that citizens of Islamabad would gather in large numbers at 26 Number Chungi at 5pm on Friday, where the next phase of the protest movement would begin.
He demanded that the government immediately abolish the petroleum levy, warning that otherwise the public reaction would intensify. He said if the youth also joined the movement in a vigorous manner, it would become difficult for the rulers to face the situation.
Former MNA Ayesha Syed said women had come out not for themselves but to protect the rights of the entire nation. She said the petroleum levy was a heavy tax imposed on the people, while the increase in petroleum product prices directly affected the budget of every household.
She said the issue was no longer confined to demands alone, as the people would now struggle strongly to secure their rights. She added that women would continue to play their role in the public movement on the call of the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership.
Iffat Sajjad and Qudsia Namoos said women would play a full role in the ongoing movement against inflation, the petroleum levy and what they called anti-people economic policies.
They demanded that the government immediately abolish the petroleum levy, reduce the prices of petroleum products and take effective steps to provide relief to the people from inflation.
The speakers resolved that Jamaat-e-Islami’s peaceful protest movement would continue until the petroleum levy was abolished and economic relief was provided to the public.
