karachi: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Monday said that the party's peaceful approach should not be mistaken for weakness, and that it would not back down from the rights of the people under any circumstances.

Addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, he said everyone had seen the party's street power, and that whatever relief the public had received as a result of JI's struggle was considered insufficient by the party.

"The government considers a monthly relief of Rs25-30 billion as a great achievement. The government will have to abolish the petroleum levy -- extortion tax," he said.

He said if PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was really against the establishment's electoral system, he should give up the "fake mayoralty" in Karachi and National and Provincial Assembly seats obtained on the basis of Form-47.

He said in the current chaotic situation in the country, real issues of the people were being ignored. He said JI fully supports protest by any political party in accordance with the Constitution and law, and the government should hold serious negotiations and resolve the issue concerning the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

"We demand that all political prisoners should be freed, especially the government should immediately release arrested women of the PTI," he said, adding that health of individuals like Dr Yasmin Rashid, Ijaz Chaudhry, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Mahmood-ur-Rasheed was deteriorating and keeping them in jails was not justified in any way.

He said merely announcing a committee would achieve nothing. The threats and tone of government ministers were not appropriate, and demands including access to Imran Khan, provision of hospital facilities and holding of meetings with him were not unjustified under the law and its procedures, he said.

He said the unconstitutional step of imposing governor's rule would backfire on the government.

Naeemur Rehman said people in Karachi were losing their lives daily in street crimes, adding that in Manghopir a family buried its child after 18 days and another youth was killed in a street crime incident last night.

He said due to JI's struggle, people had become aware that petroleum levy was an extortion and "goonda tax" which had no relation with the actual price of petrol.

He said on the prime minister's assurance, JI had given a pause to the long march and had not withdrawn from protest, and the protest continued across the country even on Monday.

He said a few days ago a public meeting was held in Lahore which the government tried to stop and surrounded the venue with containers from all sides, yet a historic public meeting was held.

He said a signature campaign had now been formally launched across the country, protest camps had been set up and rallies were being held, and the party stood by its basic demands, adding that the government had no other option.

He said there was an imperialist mindset in the attitude of the IMF, and according to a report its donors influenced its policies, including various countries, with the United States being the largest shareholder with 16.5 per cent share. He said the IMF had to take certain decisions with 85pc majority, therefore when the US came forward it also vetoed the IMF.

He said US "terrorism" was not only happening in the UN but also across the global economic system.

He said it was nowhere written in the IMF programme that the Pakistani government would necessarily collect levy. He questioned that if the government did not have money, how did Maryam Nawaz purchase an aircraft worth Rs11 billion and why was an order for vehicles worth Rs6.6bn placed.

"Why do bureaucrats, ministers and advisers have vehicles worth billions and why do they use free electricity and petrol," he asked, adding that the FBR had committed corruption of Rs1,300bn.

He said out of Rs38,000bn deposits currently present in banks of Pakistan, 40pc were current accounts, whose holders were not even getting one per cent interest. "We gave money, we are not taking interest, they are giving loans to the government from our money and the government is returning the money with 11pc interest. This 11pc is being taken by the government from the poor segment of the country," he said.

He said the government's claim that inflation would increase if interest rate was reduced was sheer deception, and only by reducing the rate by 3pc, levy could be completely abolished.

He said mafias ruled in ruling parties which protected each other's interests, and people in the country were diverted from real issues by putting them behind different names, families and personalities.

On the occasion, JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan, deputy chiefs Saifuddin Advocate, Muslim Pervez, Raja Arif Sultan, Karachi Secretary Taufiquddin Siddiqui, Sindh Assembly member Muhammad Farooq, Information Secretary Zahid Askari and Public Aid Committee Secretary Najeeb Ayubi were also present.