LAHORE: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Wednesday announced a series of major public gatherings across the country as part of the party’s campaign against inflation, farmers’ problems and delays in local government (LG) elections.
Addressing a press conference at the party’s Mansoorah headquarters, JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said the party would hold a public gathering in Quetta on Nov 22, followed by a major rally at Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore on Nov 29. Similar gatherings would later be organised in Peshawar and Karachi as well, he added.
The JI has been demanding for over two months that the federal government abolish petroleum levy, as fuel prices have skyrocketed due to conflicts in the Middle East since March. Mr Rehman said his party has now decided to broaden that movement to include protests against rising prices of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), difficulties faced by farmers and delays in holding LG polls.
He claimed no other political party wasseriously raising issues affecting ordinary citizens. He maintained that political movements should neither resort to violence nor take up batons, describing the JPs campaign as organised and peaceful.
Highlighting the economic difficulties facing the public, the JI emir said LPG prices had crossed Rs500 per kg, while electricity and gas tariffs remained excessively high. He also alleged that oil refineries were making huge profits from petroleum products.
The JI emir also criticised the Punjab government over what he said was a deteriorating agricultural situation. He contended that small farmers were bearing the brunt of government policies.
The price of a 50kg bag of DAP fertiliser had exceeded Rs17,000, while urea was not readily available in the market, he said. Flour prices had reached Rs8,000 per 40kg, whereas farmers had sold wheat for less than Rs3,500 per 40kg. The price had since climbed to around Rs5,500 per 40kg, he added. Mr Rehman claimed that the area under cotton cultivation had declined by 60 per cent over the past decade, with sugarcane increasingly replacing cotton in traditional cotton-growing areas.
He said farmers did not receive a fair price for sugarcane, while there were indications that sugar mills might not begin crushing by the Nov 15 deadline. The JI emir claimed that a few influential political families owned nearly 75pc of the country’s sugar mills andalleged that various ‘mafias’ benefited from creating and exploiting shortages.
On LG elections, Mr Rehman said the JI had approached the courts over the failure to hold polls and amendments introduced to Punjab’s local government law. Describing the existing Punjab Local Government Act as anti-democratic, he said JI had rejected the legislation and demanded amendments to ensure timely elections.
On the issue of petroleum levy, on which the JI has been holding consultations with the Centre, Mr Rehman said a joint technical team comprising government and party representatives had prepared a draft agreement.
He said the government would review the proposed agreement before announcing relief measures for the public. The JI emir said the party’s protest drive against the petrol levy had helped prevent further hikes in petrol prices and secured relief for citizens.
However, he asked the government to extend the existingreliefpackage tovehicles up to 1,300cc, agricultural machinery running on diesel and public transport.
Mr Rehman made it clear that the party had not withdrawn its demand for the abolition of the petroleum levy. ‘We will decide our future course of action after the final agreement,’ he asserted.
He demanded that the government pass on the benefits of declining international oil prices to consumers while curbing excessive profits made by oil refineries.