What happened
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned on Tuesday, 18 August 2026, that his party could call a countrywide shutdown and march on Islamabad if the government did not withdraw the petroleum levy and bring down fuel prices, as its sit-ins outside government buildings entered a third day.
The warning came at a press conference outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House in Lahore on the third day of the sit-in, Business Recorder reported. Dawn reported that Rehman had announced on Monday that the party would turn the sit-ins against the petroleum levy into a broader nationwide public movement.
The demands
Rehman demanded that the government cut fuel prices, abolish the petroleum levy and bring petrol down to Rs225 per litre. He said the public was already paying heavy taxes on every litre of fuel and could no longer bear the rising cost of living, and that the government was collecting money from consumers through fuel levies as well as heavy taxes on electricity and gas bills.
Dawn reported that the protests also targeted expensive electricity, agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) and privileges enjoyed by what it described as the ruling elite.
“This is not a protest for a few days. We have not come here to leave,” Rehman said, according to Dawn, warning that failure to meet JI’s demands could lead to a countrywide shutdown and a march towards the capital.
The sit-ins
Sit-ins continued in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. Dawn reported that a large number of activists gathered at the Charing Cross in Lahore after spending the previous night on The Mall, with national and party flags flying over the protest site, and that similar sit-ins continued outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar.
Rehman announced that women would join the Lahore sit-in, and Business Recorder reported that women and lawyers would join the protests and that the Lahore Bar Association had announced its support for the Lahore demonstration.
The government’s offer
Responding to the government’s offer of negotiations, Rehman said JI would not travel to Islamabad to meet a government committee. “Those who want to talk should come here,” he said, according to Dawn, promising that the party would receive them with respect.
He also criticised the bureaucracy, saying officials must stop treating themselves as rulers, and criticised the Federal Board of Revenue, saying annual corruption in the FBR was exceeding around Rs1.3 trillion.
Why it matters
The escalation widens a confrontation over fuel taxes that has kept protesters camped outside government buildings in several cities, at a time when the government has relied on the petroleum levy to help stabilise its finances. JI has said it will keep the protests going until its demands are met, and the dispute is now testing how far the government is willing to negotiate.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details and quoted remarks are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 18 August 2026.
- Dawn — "JI threatens countrywide shutdown, march on Islamabad"18 August 2026 · Rehman's announcement at the Lahore sit-in, the demands for a Rs225 petrol price and withdrawal of the petroleum levy, the sit-ins in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, and the response to the government's talks offer.
- Business Recorder — "Hafiz Naeem warns of nationwide strike over fuel price hike"18 August 2026 · The third day of the Lahore sit-in, the warning of a countrywide strike, the demand to cap petrol at Rs225 per litre, and support from women, lawyers and the Lahore Bar Association.
