PESHAWAR: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Friday held protest demonstrations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against high petroleum prices and urged the government to restore the pre-US-Iran conflict rates.
The protests were organized on the call of JI central chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman in various districts, including Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsadda, Ghalanai, Bara, and Kohat.
The participants expressed concern over the increase in petroleum prices in the wake of the recent conflict between Iran and Israel. The speakers at the rallies argued that following the ceasefire between the two countries, international crude oil prices had returned to normal levels, and the government should immediately reduce fuel prices in Pakistan accordingly.
They termed the government’s reduction of Rs74 per liter in petroleum prices as insufficient, insisting that prices should be restored to the levels before the war between the US and Iran. In Peshawar, Jamaat-e-Islami organized a motorcycle rally from Nishtarabad to the Governor’s House. The rally was led by JI Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Abdul Wasi and attended by former provincial ministers Hafiz Hashmat Khan and Kashif Azam Khalil, along with JI Peshawar city chief Hafiz Hamidullah, district general secretary Hidayatullah Khan, provincial president of the National Labour Federation Jamshed Munir Khan and Jamaat-e-Islami Youth president Usama Mir.
Addressing participants outside the Governor’s House, Abdul Wasi and other speakers recalled that the Prime Minister had assured the public after the Iran-Israel conflict began that Pakistan possessed petroleum reserves sufficient for 28 days. However, they said, petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs55 per liter the very next day despite the availability of existing stocks.
The speakers alleged that fuel already available in the country was sold at higher rates and that subsequent increases further shifted the financial burden onto consumers.They maintained that since international prices had declined after the ceasefire, the government’s decision to reduce fuel prices by only Rs74 per liter was unacceptable. They demanded that the full benefit of falling global fuel prices be passed on to the public and that petroleum prices be restored to the level from which the increases had been imposed.
