Islamabad: Jamaat i Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has intensified political pressure on the federal government, announcing a nationwide long march on Islamabad scheduled for September 20, to demand the immediate abolition of the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL). Addressing a public rally in Gujranwala on Friday, Rehman warned that failure to meet public demands would force the party into launching a broader movement aimed at bringing down the government. The announcement comes as JI sit ins against taxation on fuel enter their 27th consecutive day across major urban centres, including Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi.

Rehman strongly criticised the federal government for imposing Rs114 per litre in total taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel, characterising the PDL as an unjust "jagga tax" that has squeezed ordinary citizens while yielding over Rs1,567 billion for the national exchequer.

The JI chief also took aim at the broader economic setup, accusing the ruling elite of benefiting independent power producers (IPPs), failing to implement the 18th Amendment by retaining bloated federal expenditures, and ignoring alternative fiscal reforms such as ending interest based banking. He stated that countrywide caravans would converge on the federal capital on September 20, if the government refuses to revise its tax policies.