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JI announces nationwide strike on Sept 3 against petroleum levy

Jamaat-i-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Thursday announced a nationwide strike for Sept 3 against the petroleum levy, warning the government that if relief was not provided to the people, the ongoing sit-in campaign could culminate in a long march on Islamabad. “The rulers have neither a vision nor the ability to govern. Their only vision is to loot the people,” Rehman said while addressing participants of the JI sit-in outside the Punjab chief minister’s house in Lahore. He said the protest movement was no longer confined to three cities, with sit-ins and demonstrations now being held in several parts of the country. The party chief urged party workers and supporters to intensify their struggle, saying the government was testing the patience of the people. He also appealed to traders to support the Sept 3 nationwide strike in the interest of public rights. The JI chief said a major public gathering would be held in Faisalabad on Friday and indicated that the protest movement would be intensified in the coming days. Announcing the Sept 3 strike, Rehman said it would remain peaceful, stressing that “not even a flowerpot will be broken”. However, he warned that the government wo