Islamabad (National Times) Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has announced that his party will continue its campaign for the abolition of the petroleum levy and march towards Islamabad from different directions on September 20.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Hafiz Naeem said the petroleum levy had become an additional financial burden on the public and urged the government to withdraw it.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami had presented the government with practical proposals, including a reduction in the interest rate. According to him, cutting the rate by three percentage points could save around Rs1,700 billion.

Hafiz Naeem said the party would not compromise on its demands. He claimed protests and sit-ins were being held in 36 cities and warned that negotiations with the government could be called off if authorities continued to delay action on their demands.

Speaking about agreements with independent power producers (IPPs), he said the contracts should be made public so that people could examine them. He also criticised the continued inclusion of capacity charges in electricity bills.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief alleged that major political parties, including PML-N, PPP and PTI, had a role in the existing system and said political influence was preventing meaningful reforms.

Hafiz Naeem further said that Jamaat-e-Islami would attend an All Parties Conference if invited by PTI. He added that his party considers PTI founder Imran Khan a political prisoner and maintains contacts with opposition parties.