LOWER DIR: Hundreds of workers and supporters of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) staged a sit-in at Shaheed Chowk in Timergara on Sunday as part of the party’s nationwide protest campaign against the petroleum levy, what it described as excessive taxation, and rising inflation.

The protest, held on the call of JI emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, was attended by party members from different parts of the district and continued till the filing of this report.

Addressing the sit-in, JI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa North emir Inayatullah Khan, Lower Dir emir Maulana Asadullah Khan, district general secretary Shoaib Ahmad, provincial information secretary Engr Yaqubur Rehman, former district nazim Ihsanul Haq, former tehsil nazim Riaz Mohammad and other local leaders criticised the government’s economic policies and demanded immediate relief for the public.

Inayatullah Khan rejected what he termed additional collections from consumers in the name of petroleum levy and said the party’s protest movement was continuing across the country on the directive of the central leadership.

He said sit-ins had gradually been extended to districts nationwide and would continue until the party’s central leadership decided to end the movement or announced a new course of action.

He added that negotiations with the government were also under way.

The speakers strongly criticised the increase in the petroleum levy and demanded its immediate withdrawal, arguing that the move had further burdened inflation-hit citizens.

They urged the government to reduce petroleum prices and fix them at a maximum of Rs225 per litre to provide relief to consumers struggling with the rising cost of living.

The JI leaders also opposed the proposed imposition of taxes in Malakand division, saying residents of the region were already facing economic hardships and could not bear additional taxation.

They called on the government to immediately withdraw the decision to impose taxes in the division.

The speakers said the party would continue its protest campaign for public rights and economic relief, adding that future strategy would be announced in line with decisions taken by the central leadership.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2026