Widen fuel relief to 1,300cc cars, JI tells govt

Key Points:

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azhar Iqbal Hassan toured signature campaign camps in Madina Town and on Sheikhupura Road on the drive’s second day
He said the government collected Rs1,567 billion in petroleum levy last year while the public received only Rs26 billion in relief
The party wants relief extended to 1,300cc cars and farm tractors, with a Rs200 per litre levy on vehicles above 1,800cc

FAISALABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Azhar Iqbal Hassan on Sunday demanded the petroleum levy’s immediate abolition during a Faisalabad signature campaign tour.

According to the Jamaat-e-Islami media cell handout, Mr Hassan addressed gatherings while touring camps set up in Madina Town, on Sheikhupura Road and in other city areas on the second day of the party’s three-day nationwide signature drive.

He said the petroleum levy was an extortion tax that could not be accepted in any circumstances. He demanded that the government announce its immediate abolition instead of a gradual phase-out.

Mr Hassan said the government could not wriggle out of the levy issue in the name of giving relief.

He said the government had collected Rs1,567 billion in petroleum levy last year and was collecting about Rs150 billion every month. Against this, he said, the public was being given only Rs26 billion in relief.

The handout said the party demanded that fuel relief be extended from 800cc vehicles to 1,300cc vehicles. It said tractors used by farmers should also be brought within the relief net.

Mr Hassan proposed a levy of Rs200 per litre on vehicles above 1,800cc. He said those who could afford a big vehicle could also pay a higher levy.

He said the step would cut the levy burden on middle-class motorists by Rs30 to Rs40 per litre.

The JI leader said his party’s struggle had forced the government to grant relief and to question the refineries. He said these steps were still insufficient.

He said the benefit the government had gained from its negotiations with the independent power producers had not reached the public. He demanded effective control of the IPPs so their gains were passed on to the people.

Mr Hassan said the government was strengthening the banking mafia by burdening the nation. He demanded genuine relief for the public, transparency in the affairs of refineries and oil marketing companies and action against mafias.

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