ISLAMABAD: The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, revealed plans of holding a mass protest of the JI on inflation in Islamabad on May 15, thus warning the Pakistani government that their people’s frustration with rising prices, petrol, and electricity bills cannot be ignored anymore.
Speaking during a press conference in Islamabad, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman said that the JI agitation against the high prices of food items in the country would be held in the city on May 15, adding that if the government does not heed its demands regarding fuel and electricity charges, then it would consider launching a strike and wheel jam.
Rs117 Implicit Taxes Paid by Pakistanis for Every Liter of Petrol
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman made use of the press conference to issue perhaps the most scathing criticism of the petroleum pricing policy of Pakistan in recent times. In accordance with the international benchmarks, the price of petrol is supposed to be Rs271 per liter in Pakistan, whereas consumers end up paying Rs415 per liter – an excess amount of Rs144, all of which according to Hafiz Naeem is attributable to Rs117 of implicit taxes on every liter.
This one figure, Rs117 per liter in taxes, transforms the JI’s opposition to the price rise into something far more concrete. It puts the Jamaat-e-Islami in the role of a political party that has actually counted the cost of taxation to the common man at the petrol pump.
Hafiz Naeem has raised a pertinent issue regarding the lack of an increase in the cost of petrol in India and Bangladesh under the same global oil market scenario as that of Pakistan, wondering if it is due to regional conflict’s impact on the national economy, or is it because of domestic tax policy?
Electricity Taxation Surpasses Rs1.9 Trillion in Three Years
The JI’s campaign against inflation is accompanied by yet another equally damning allegation made against the government’s track record on energy-related taxes. As Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman mentioned, the amount of money collected from fixed taxes on electricity and gas reached a staggering Rs1.9 trillion during the last three years. This information provides an even more damning backdrop to the electricity bills’ taxes that Pakistani consumers bear.
According to the JI boss, fixed electricity and gas tariffs serve as a structural arrangement that forces consumers to pay money irrespective of the level of consumption, thereby affecting the poor whose energy usage is minimal, just like the large consumers.
ALSO READ: EPZ Double Taxation Is Quietly Destroying the Steel Sector of Pakistan
IPP Deals – Accusations of Corruption Come To Light
Apart from fuel prices and electricity tariffs, JI’s anti-inflation protest agenda has another target which is IPP deals in Pakistan. According to Hafiz Naeem Ur Rehman, 15 out of 100 IPP deals have been renegotiated by the government while awaiting the expiry of the others.
He claimed that the extension of the agreements would be considered before revisiting them – and blamed the government for this decision in order to safeguard its corrupt financial interests from within the current power purchase agreement system, which is costing the country billions of dollars every year irrespective of production.
15th May Deadline Brings Pressure on the Government
JI’s rally in response to the increase in the cost of living will take place on 15th May, which is a critical period for the Pakistani government. This is because the government is dealing with IMF conditionalities, increase in global oil prices, and domestic inflation; hence, there is little room left to lower electricity bills.
It will depend completely upon how many people actually turn out for the protest on May 15 against inflation by JI, as well as whether or not the government takes any steps to address the tax issues raised by Hafiz Naeem that have come into the forefront.
