Hafiz Naeem announces nationwide strike on August 7 over petrol price hike

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Saturday announced a nationwide strike on August 7 to protest the recent increase in petrol prices, calling on traders, transporters and the public to participate in the shutdown.

Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Hafiz Naeem questioned who should be held responsible for the country’s poor governance, saying that mere statements would not resolve Pakistan’s political and economic challenges.

The JI chief said all political stakeholders shared responsibility for the prevailing situation and stressed that elected representatives should be allowed to govern if the system was to improve.

Commenting on Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s recent remarks regarding “Form-47,” Hafiz Naeem said Bilawal himself was “a product of Form-47,” adding that political parties raise objections only when their share in power is reduced.

He also criticized the political arrangement between the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), alleging that both parties had contributed to weakening the country’s democratic system.

Referring to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hafiz Naeem urged the government to immediately initiate dialogue with the people to resolve the ongoing issues.

Petrol price in Pakistan for August 1, 2026

The JI chief criticized the government’s fuel pricing policy, claiming petrol and diesel prices had reached record levels.

He alleged that Pakistan currently had the highest petrol prices in the region and said a significant portion of the retail price consisted of taxes and the petroleum levy.

Hafiz Naeem described the petroleum levy as an “extortion tax” and urged the government to reduce the price of petrol to Rs225 per litre. He also said that rising fuel prices had increased the cost of at least 27 essential commodities while ordinary citizens continued to bear the burden of inflation.

He further stated that the government was using the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as a justification for not reducing the petroleum levy, while leaving official privileges and subsidised electricity for the ruling elite untouched.

Criticising the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Hafiz Naeem alleged that it had become a hub of corruption despite employing more than 25,000 staff.

Announcing the party’s protest campaign, he said Jamaat-e-Islami would hold a women’s march in Karachi on August 3 at Shahrah-e-Quaideen, while youth rehearsal sit-ins would be organised across the country on Sunday.