Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) launched sit-ins across Pakistan on Sunday, drawing protesters to provincial capitals as the party stepped up pressure on the government over inflation, fuel prices, the petroleum levy and what it describes as poor governance.
The demonstrations were originally scheduled for August 9, but JI postponed its protest campaign until August 16 because of Independence Day celebrations.
In Lahore, a large number of party workers marched from Masjid-i-Shuhada towards the Chief Minister’s House, before gathering for a sit-in at Faisal Chowk on The Mall.
Led by JI Lahore emir Ziauddin Ansari Advocate, protesters called on the government to withdraw the petroleum levy and provide greater economic relief to the public.
The demonstration disrupted traffic in central Lahore, forcing authorities to close The Mall between Regal Chowk and Faisal Chowk.
Addressing the gathering, Ansari argued that a substantial portion of the price motorists pay for petrol consisted of government taxes and levies. He claimed that a person using a motorcycle could end up paying around Rs20,000 a month in taxes.
“Petrol prices imposed on us are actually taxes,” he said.
The JI leader also criticised what he described as an unequal taxation system, alleging that ordinary citizens were bearing a disproportionate burden while landlords and feudal interests were not paying their full share.