Islamabad: Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab North held a review meeting of its district Ameers in Rawalpindi under the chairmanship of Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami North Punjab Dr. Tariq Saleem to finalize preparations for the party's nationwide protest and road blockade scheduled for August 7 against the petroleum levy and what it described as anti-public economic policies.

Acting Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Nazir Ahmed Janjua also attended the meeting, while district Ameers from across North Punjab participated in the planning and review session.

Addressing the meeting, Nazir Ahmed Janjua said that nationwide protests and road blockades would be held on August 7 against the petroleum levy, rising inflation, excessive taxation, and the government's economic policies. He said lawyers, teachers, doctors, students, workers, traders, and people from all walks of life would participate in the demonstrations. He added that only ambulances would be allowed to pass during the protest.

Nazir Ahmed Janjua said that more than 40 percent of Pakistan's population is living below the poverty line, while around 35 million children remain out of school. He alleged that the government had turned petroleum products into a major source of revenue and was burdening the public through rising electricity, gas, and fuel prices. He said youth, women, senior citizens, and workers across the country would join the August 7 protest on the call of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Tariq Saleem said August 7 would mark a historic day of peaceful political resistance, adding that people would gather on major highways from Karachi to Khyber to protest what he called the government's unjust economic policies. He described the demonstration as the beginning of a broader public movement for economic relief and public rights. He said the increase in petrol prices to Rs. 335 per litre had placed an unbearable burden on ordinary citizens, particularly students, employees, and low-income motorcycle users.

According to Dr. Tariq Saleem, around 30 million people rely on motorcycles for transportation and are paying billions of rupees annually in taxes and petroleum levies. He claimed that the government had collected Rs. 1.9 trillion through the petroleum levy in a single year and a total of Rs. 8.5 trillion from the public through various taxes and levies.