MINGORA: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Friday announced expanding the party's protest movement against petroleum levy, taxes, high electricity tariffs and what he described as exploitation by independent power producers (IPPs).

"The movement would ultimately march towards Islamabad if the government failed to accept the protesters' demands," he warned while addressing a public gathering here. Hafiz Naeem said a nationwide strike had been observed against the petroleum levy and taxes, while sit-ins continued at several locations in Sindh.

He said the Jamaat-e-Islami represented the voice of workers and young people, adding that the government's policies had made the lives of ordinary citizens increasingly difficult. "Every time a young person fills his vehicle with petrol, he pays 35 percent as a levy," he pointed out.

Hafiz Naeem criticised the IPPs, accusing them of exploiting consumers and saying that ordinary people were ultimately paying the cost of loans obtained by the power producers. He warned the government against ignoring the demands of the protesters, saying that continued delays could lead to an Inqilab March.