Jamaat-e-Islami will begin its planned train march from Karachi to Islamabad on Sept. 20 after five rounds of talks with the government failed to resolve differences over the petroleum levy.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) will begin its planned train march from Karachi to Islamabad on Sunday, Sept. 20, escalating its campaign against the government’s petroleum levy after five rounds of talks failed to produce an agreement.
JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said the march will begin from Karachi, while caravans from different parts of the country will join the mobilisation on their way to the federal capital. The party has described the action as a “super long march” focused primarily on the withdrawal of the petroleum levy.
According to the announced schedule, participants from Karachi are due to travel by train, with the march expected to pass through Multan and Lahore before moving towards Islamabad. JI has also called on supporters from Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab to participate in the mobilisation.
The train march is scheduled to depart Karachi’s Cantt Railway Station at 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to Business Recorder. Additional groups are expected to join the march at points along the route.
The development follows the fifth round of negotiations between the government and JI on Saturday. The talks ended without a final agreement, with the party maintaining its demand for the withdrawal of the petroleum levy and the government seeking to prevent the planned march.
JI has been holding protests and sit-ins against the petroleum levy and fuel prices in several parts of the country. In Karachi, the party maintained a sit-in outside the Sindh Governor House for more than a month before shifting its focus to the Islamabad mobilisation.
Hafiz Naeem has said the party’s campaign is aimed at securing relief for consumers and addressing what it considers excessive taxation and the rising cost of living. JI has also raised concerns over the impact of fuel prices on households, businesses and the prices of essential goods.
JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch also confirmed that the “super long march” would proceed under Hafiz Naeem’s leadership after the latest round of negotiations.
The party has said its planned mobilisation will be conducted peacefully and that it does not intend to block roads or unnecessarily disrupt routine public activities.
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