By our correspondent
LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has criticised the petroleum levy, calling it a form of “extortion” and “jaga tax”, and said the current system of governance had little connection with ordinary people.
Addressing protesters at a sit-in at Faisal Chowk on Lahore’s Mall Road, Rehman said the protest would continue until the government backed down. He said a separate sit-in was also continuing outside the Governor House in Karachi, describing the petroleum levy as an unjust charge imposed on the public.
Rehman repeated his demand for the abolition of the petroleum levy and called for petrol prices to be reduced to Rs225 a liter. He accused the government of adding taxes whenever fuel prices were increased, saying the burden had pushed ordinary people into further difficulty.
Rehman claimed that Rs700 billion had been collected in taxes from salaried workers, while wealthy landowners and senior bureaucrats were avoiding or benefiting from the tax system. He challenged influential landowners associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz to disclose how much tax they paid on their agricultural estates.
“This feudal system cannot continue,” he said, accusing large landowners of exploiting poor farmers and claiming that major bureaucrats were also failing to pay their fair share of taxes. Rehman said the protest had now begun and would continue until the government responded to the demonstrators’ demands.
He dismissed the government’s offer to form a committee, saying the protesters did not need another briefing or a trip to Islamabad. “We will discuss only one thing: withdraw the petroleum levy,” he said. “End the levy, come and talk to the protesters, and bring the price of petrol down to Rs225 a liter.”
