ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Islamabad women wing staged a protest demonstration outside the National Press Club on August 6 against the petroleum levy as part of the party’s ongoing countrywide protest movement launched on the call of JI Pakistan Emir 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 JI Islamabad Emir Engineer Nasrullah Randhawa, former MNA and deputy general secretary of JI women wing Ayesha Syed, Iffat Sajjad and JI Islamabad women wing chief 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 approximately Rs150 petroleum levy was being collected on every litre of petrol, resulting in a continuous increase in prices of essential commodities.
He said Rs1,600 billion had been collected under the petroleum levy last year, while Rs3,400 billion were paid to independent power producers during the same period. He added that out of the Rs16,000 billion federal budget, Rs8,300 billion were spent on interest payments, while out of total loans of Rs83,000 billion, Rs62,000 billion had been obtained by rulers from their own banks.
Mr Randhawa alleged that the owners of banks and IPPs were present in parliament and the people were paying the price in the form of inflation.
He said the JI protest movement would be expanded further. According to him, 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 said the 26 Number Motorway Chowk would be closed on Friday and claimed it would be the biggest protest in the history of Islamabad.
He demanded that the government immediately abolish the petroleum levy, warning that public reaction would intensify otherwise. He said if the youth also joined the movement in large numbers, it would become difficult for the rulers to face the situation.
Former MNA Ayesha Syed said women had not come out for themselves but to protect the rights of the entire nation. She said the petroleum levy was a heavy tax imposed on the people and the increase in petroleum prices directly affected the budget of every household.
She said the issue was no longer limited to demands, adding that the people would struggle for their rights. She said women would continue to play their role in the public movement on the call of the JI leadership.
Iffat Sajjad and Qudsia Namoos said women would play an active role in the ongoing movement against inflation, petroleum levy and what they called anti-people economic policies. They demanded that the government immediately abolish the petroleum levy, reduce prices of petroleum products and take effective measures to provide relief to the people from inflation.
The speakers resolved that JI’s peaceful protest movement would continue until the petroleum levy was abolished and economic relief was provided to the people.
