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Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has launched the third phase of its countrywide protest campaign against rising petroleum prices and what the party describes as an unfair petroleum levy, organising sit-ins, rallies and public meetings across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, the demonstrations, held on the instructions of JI Pakistan chief Engineer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, took place in Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Charsadda and Khyber. Party leaders stated that protests would continue until the government withdrew the disputed levy and introduced measures to ease the financial pressure on ordinary citizens. In Peshawar, district emir Bahrullah Khan Advocate led a sit-in at Hashtnagri Chowk. In Mardan, a demonstration outside the Press Club was organised under the leadership of JI Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa central emir Abdul Wasi and district emir Ghulam Rasool. Protesters also gathered at Shobra Chowk in Nowshera under provincial deputy emir Khalid Waqas and district emir Haji Inayatur Rehman. In Swabi, district emir Mufti Murad Ahmed, Saeedzada Yousafzai and Wajid Ali Shah Advocate led a rally at Aman Chowk. In Khyber, provincial deputy emir Mian Sohaibuddin Kakakhel and district emir Shah Faisal Afridi headed a protest rally. Meanwhile, a public gathering was held at Farooq Azam Chowk in Charsadda under district emir Shah Hussain Advocate. Addressing the demonstrators, JI leaders blamed repeated petroleum price increases for worsening inflation and reducing the purchasing power of households already struggling with rising living costs. They also highlighted worsening law and order and persistent electricity and gas shortages, arguing that these problems had further aggravated the difficulties faced by residents, as cited by The Express Tribune. The party leaders further alleged that the provincial government was using anti-encroachment drives to divert public attention from more pressing economic and administrative concerns following the imposition of governor's rule, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)
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