Karachi: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Emir Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday said the party would press ahead with its planned nationwide strike, as he thanked Karachi's business community for announcing its support for the ongoing protest outside the Governor House.On the occasion, over 50 traders market associations heads, including Attique Mir and Rizwan Irfan, announce to close markets on September 3.Addressing a traders' convention on the 17th day of the sit-in, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman criticised the government's economic policies, particularly the petroleum levy, and accused successive governments of burdening ordinary citizens while extending privileges to the ruling elite.The JI supreme leader categorically pointed out nefarious designs behind flawed economic policies. He said that at one hand the government couldn't abolish levy because of the IMF but on the other hand, the same regime was able to purchase lavish aircraft worth Rs11 billion. Did the IMF guidelines evaporate when the PML-N regime was purchasing the aircraft for just one person that took in the middle of a global crises, he made a point.The JI chief said that abolishing levy all at once was quite practical as the same amount can be generated by austerity measures on part of the government. He added that the ruling regime was reluctant to consider the option because such measures would push them to less lavish style of governance. He also highlighted hundreds of billions of rupees worth spendings by the government that can be curtailed through executive orders.He said political parties often opposed dependence on the International Monetary Fund before coming to power but joined IMF programmes after assuming office.He questioned the provision of official perks, including free fuel and electricity, to senior government officials, bureaucrats and other state functionaries, saying the burden, worth hundreds of billions of rupees, of such privileges should not be transferred to the public.He said that increases in petroleum pr ices and levies had further aggravated the financial difficulties of citizens.The JI supremo said his party had previously raised issues relating to independent power producers and would continue its campaign for the review and termination of agreements which, according to him, were against the public interest.He said that the JI's protests had helped bring issues concerning IPPs to public attention, adding that the party did not support entering into further such agreements.He said the party had also taken up issues concerning electricity supply in Karachi, Nadra and Bahria Town, and claimed that its efforts had contributed to resolving several public grievances.He announced that protests outside governors' houses would be expanded to other parts of the country, saying demonstrations were already being held in Chitral and other cities in Punjab and interior Sindh.Thanking Karachi's traders for backing the planned shutdown, he said the strike would go ahead and would be observed across the country.' JI's struggle is solely for the people,' he said, adding that incompetence and corruption had combined to deepen the country's economic crisis.