Pakistan warns protests could cause $433 million losses daily as Jamaat-e-Islami begins march

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has warned that upcoming protests and demonstrations can trigger economic losses worth Rs120 billion [$433.9 million] for the country on a daily basis, as the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party embarked on its 'long march' to the capital on Sunday. The JI kicked off its protest march to Pakistan's capital from the city of Karachi on Sunday. The religious-political party aims to pressurize the government to abolish the petroleum levy, which it describes as an unfair 'goon tax,' so that masses can be relieved of inflationary pressures. Pakistan's government levies Rs114 [$0.41] per liter in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 [$0.36] per liter on diesel. The government has regularly increased the prices of petroleum products as the US-Iran war and increasing attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia drive up global oil prices. In a televised message, Aurangzeb listed down the government's economic achievements, saying that Islamabad had estimated that road closures and shutdown of businesses would lead to losses in the billions. 'So, we have estimated that and it is on, you know, very good research, that we will suffer a loss of approximately Rs120 billion [$433.9 million] on a daily basis,' the finance minister said. He said the government had estimated that the services sector will suffer the biggest loss, in which financial services, communications, transport, retail, wholesale and hospitality sectors are included. 'And there is an estimated risk of approximately Rs86 billion [$310.7 million] in losses here on a daily basis,' Aurangzeb said. JI, PTI 'LONG MARCHES' Hundreds of JI supporters left for the capital via train from Karachi on Sunday, a day after another round of talks between the government and its leadership failed to reach a breakthrough. The JI has been regularly holding sit-in demonstrations in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and dozens of other locations across the country since August, demanding the government abolish the levy. Meanwhile, the government is concerned of violence escalating as former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has also announced it plans to march to Islamabad on Sept. 27. The PTI has said it will mobilize hundreds of thousands of supporters in Islamabad and demand the government release Khan from prison, who has been incarcerated in Rawalpindi since 2023. Separately, Islamabad's chief commissioner and chief of police on Saturday reviewed security and law and order arrangements at major entry and exit points of the capital. The officials inspected various areas of the city to assess police deployment, traffic management and the preparedness of relevant departments to respond to any situation, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported. The protests take place amid a stern warning from Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who said on Friday that law enforcement personnel had been given clear 'rules of engagement' to respond if fired upon during planned opposition protests in Islamabad. 'This time, we are giving very clear rules of engagement to our soldiers and there is no possibility that if you shoot them, they will remain silent,' Naqvi said at a press conference on Friday. An Islamabad High Court judgment this week said political parties and leaders had no lawful right to block roads, highways or other public places in ways that obstructed citizens' movement or access to schools and hospitals.