Karachi: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi on Friday organised 14 big protest demonstrations in the mega city as part of the countrywide protests against the increase in petroleum prices, inflation, heavy taxation and what it termed anti-people economic policies of the government.The protest campaign was announced by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Chief Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman. The central protest was held outside Jamia Masjid Khizra in Saddar under the leadership of Saifuddin Advocate, acting emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi and opposition leader in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).Protesters carried banners and placards bearing slogans against the petroleum levy, high fuel prices, electricity tariffs and prolonged load-shedding. The protesters called on the government to reduce petrol prices, abolish the petroleum levy and end fixed charges in electricity bills.Addressing the demonstration, Saifuddin Advocate said JI would continue its movement against inflation, taxes and 'anti-public' policies o f the rulers. He urged Karachiites, particularly youth, traders, labourers and students, to join the party's campaign against the government's economic policies.He said nations achieved progress and secured their rights through sustained struggle and public resistance. Criticising the role of the IMF, he said that Pakistan had gained no benefit from international loans and that each agreement resulted in further taxation on the public.He alleged that the country had been trapped in an interest-based economic system and said every Pakistani had become burdened with debt. Referring to fuel prices, he claimed that the actual price of petrol was Rs270 per litre but citizens were being forced to purchase it at Rs409 per litre.The JI leader also criticised the government for considering taxes on solar energy systems at a time when people were turning to solar power due to expensive electricity and severe load-shedding.He further held the authorities responsible of burdening citizens with additional taxes in stead of reducing official expenditures. Speaking about Karachi's civic issues, he said the city's water and sewerage system had collapsed, depriving more than half of the population of access to clean drinking water.He also criticised the Sindh government over sanitation arrangements and warned that heaps of waste could accumulate in the city during Eidul Azha.Saifuddin Advocate said that despite 79 years since the creation of Pakistan, citizens were still forced to protest on the streets for their basic rights. He described Karachi's infrastructure as severely damaged, citing broken roads, overflowing sewage lines and prolonged electricity outages, while students continued to appear in examinations during extreme heat.