Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday announced plans to step up the party’s protest campaign against the petroleum levy and rising inflation, including a countrywide strike on 13 Rabi-ul-Awwal.
Speaking to reporters in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said JI had already established protest camps at various locations across Pakistan and would announce the next phase of its campaign later in the day.
He said the nationwide strike would take place in the first week of September, as the party sought to increase pressure on the government over the rising cost of living.
“We have no personal agenda; we have taken to the streets to raise issues affecting the people,” Hafiz Naeem said.
He accused what he described as an “incompetent ruling class” of placing the consequences of its policies on ordinary Pakistanis, particularly lower-income households.
The JI chief also criticised the government’s handling of the wheat market, claiming that wheat exports had contributed to higher domestic prices.
He further questioned the handling of wheat imports during the caretaker government’s tenure, saying there was still no clear accounting of the imported stocks.
Hafiz Naeem maintained that those running the existing system had failed to provide meaningful economic relief to the public and said JI would continue its protest campaign over inflation and taxation.