JI chief Hafiz Naeem demands petrol price drop to Rs. 225 following global oil slump below $70

The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has forcefully argued that global crude oil prices

The leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has forcefully argued that global crude oil prices have fallen under $70 per barrel, insisting that Pakistan’s domestic fuel costs must instantly drop to Rs. 225 per liter to match this international decline. In a formal press statement released directly from the provincial capital of Lahore, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman openly challenged the current political administration’s economic policies. He explicitly warned authorities against using corporate pretexts to withhold financial relief from a heavily burdened populace. The party chief noted that state officials regularly hide behind the administrative frameworks, logistical constraints, and operational profit margins of domestic oil marketing companies. He explained that these structural excuses are systematically deployed to keep local fuel costs artificially high. According to the JI leader, utilizing corporate loopholes to delay price cuts is highly unethical and constitutes a direct exploitation of ordinary citizens who are already struggling under unprecedented financial pressures. He demanded that the financial benefits of the global market collapse be passed directly to the public without bureaucratic interference.

The opposition leader further emphasized that reviving the country’s stagnant economic machinery requires an immediate, substantial reduction in both petrol and diesel prices. High energy costs act as a severe bottleneck, crippling the manufacturing sector, stalling transport logistics, and driving up the operational costs of agricultural production. To foster genuine industrial growth and lower the cost of doing business, fuel must be made universally accessible and affordable. In addition to a direct price cut, he called for the complete elimination of the petroleum development levy. He characterized this specific tariff as an unfair fiscal burden imposed arbitrarily on a struggling population. Eliminating this levy is a mandatory prerequisite for delivering authentic, transparent, and sustainable economic breathing room to millions of low-income families nationwide.

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman continually reinforced the mathematical reality that international crude oil benchmarks have broken below the critical threshold of $70 per barrel. Given this sharp international decline, he asserted that maintaining the current inflated domestic rates defies all economic logic and moral principles. He insisted that calculating local fuel prices based on current global trends mandates a retail price of exactly Rs. 225 per liter. Artificially maintaining inflated rates during a global market slump simply serves to subsidize state inefficiencies at the expense of ordinary workers whose purchasing power has already been severely eroded by currency devaluation and rising inflation.

Concluding his critical assessment, the Jamaat-e-Islami chief urged federal and provincial regulatory bodies to enforce strict market oversight across all sectors. He demanded that the government mandate a corresponding reduction in public transport fares, cargo freight rates, and the retail prices of essential kitchen commodities. These everyday items should be legally restored to the stable price levels observed before the recent global conflicts and subsequent supply chain shocks. He concluded that lowering fuel prices is meaningless unless the state aggressively forces retailers to pass those savings on to consumers, thereby ensuring that the poorest segments of Pakistani society receive immediate financial relief.