Islamabad: A sharp hike in fuel prices by the Pakistan government has triggered strong backlash from opposition parties and civil society groups, with calls for mass protests and demands for the removal of the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to local media reports.
The opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General, Salman Akram Raja Friday called for a ‘mass revolution’ to overthrow the government, criticising the record fuel price hike as ‘unfair and pro-elite’, while the radical Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan announced to hold nationwide protests.
Addressing a press conference at the Lahore Press Club, Raja warned that the nation had “hit rock bottom” and called on the citizens to take to the streets to remove the ruling coalition.
“We need revolution and to topple the incumbent government that grabbed power while snatching the public mandate through the Form-47,” Pakistani daily Dawn quoted him as saying, referring to the official election result forms his party claims were extensively manipulated during the 2024 general elections.
Dismissing the government’s claim that the latest surge in petroleum price was due to global tensions, Raja said, “It was rubbish to tag the massive increase in petroleum prices with the US-Iran war.”
He accused the Pakistani government of exploiting the citizens with regressive taxation while indulging in extravagant spending on luxury vehicles and other perks for both civilian and military officials.
“Democracy in a country directly helps the poor, weak and voiceless, but it was purposely usurped, stole the public mandate and silenced the trade unions. Where there is no politics in a state, the weak and poor remain unable to raise their voices,” Raja said.
Meanwhile, in a separate address, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman declared a nationwide protest movement against the fuel price hike, threatening strikes and sit-ins if the government does not roll back its decision.
“The government must immediately withdraw the brutal and unjustified hike or face a nationwide agitation,” Dawn quoted Rehman as saying during a convention in Lahore.
He appealed to the citizens to prepare for strikes across Pakistan and warned that chief ministers’ houses in all four provinces would be encircled if demands are not addressed.
On Friday, the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Pakistan staged a protest at Karachi Press Club against the fuel price hike, calling it “unjustified” and warning that it imposes an additional financial burden on the public.
According to the rights body, a large number of citizens, civil society members, and activists participated in the protest, expressing serious concern over the continuous rise in fuel prices and its direct impact on inflation and the cost of living.
“The speakers collectively demanded that the government take immediate steps to control inflation and provide relief to the masses. They warned that if such anti-public measures continue, the protest movement will be expanded further,” the HRC of Pakistan stated.
