JI to widen protest if demands not met

He said the protest was not aimed at securing a political benefit for any party but at seeking relief for citizens facing rising costs. Inflation, he added, had made education, healthcare and other basic services increasingly unaffordable.

The JI chief criticised the petroleum levy, calling it a "jagga tax", and claimed that taxes of around Rs130 were included in the price of petroleum products, with the government directly collecting more than Rs105. Hafiz Naeem claimed that the government had collected more than Rs4 trillion through the petroleum levy and demanded that it explain where the money had been spent.

He also criticised the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for failing to meet its tax targets and questioned capacity payments made to independent power producers (IPPs) for electricity that,, was neither generated nor supplied.

The JI chief said the government had reduced petrol and diesel prices following the protests but had failed to provide transparency in the mechanism used to determine petroleum prices. He said negotiations with the government had not been ruled out and talks with government representatives would be held in Islamabad the following day.

However, he warned that failure to accept the party's demands would trigger the next phase of the protest movement. Hafiz Naeem also criticised government borrowing from banks, claiming that some banks were being given undue benefits.

He said Rs8 trillion was being allocated for interest payments on loans while severe power outages continued across the country. On sugar prices, he alleged that sugar mill owners alternated between claims of surplus and shortage, resulting in import and export decisions that ultimately affected consumers.

Farmers, he added, were not receiving fair compensation while prices of flour and sugar remained high. Referring to reports that Pakistani nationals had allegedly been held hostage in Somalia, Hafiz Naeem said four months had passed without their recovery.

He said the party had contacted the foreign and interior ministries and other relevant institutions, and urged the government to take immediate steps for their safe recovery.