Addressing participants at the sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House, Rehman described the petroleum levy as “extortionist”, accusing the government of raising both petrol prices and taxes on the fuel

He said the rulers should cut their own expenditures and privileges instead of extracting more money from ordinary citizens.

“Until the petroleum levy is abolished and our other demands are accepted, the sit-in will continue,” he said.

“If the government tries to obstruct it, this sit-in will turn into a movement to bring down the government.”

Rehman also rejected the government’s proposed committee of ministers for negotiations, saying the party did not need a briefing from a government committee.

“Whoever wants to talk should come to the sit-in and talk to us,” he said, addressing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directly. “We will not go to Islamabad to receive a briefing.”

The JI chief claimed that the governments of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had failed, accusing the ruling leadership of “destroying” the entire system.

He added that the JI had entered the second phase of its mass campaign for public rights after holding protests at 510 locations across the country on Aug 7.

The JI chief added that major sit-ins had begun outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar, while a large number of people had gathered at the historic protest site on The Mall in Lahore.

“This is an organised struggle by a genuine public party. Our fight is not against any political party; it is against injustice, inflation and anti-people policies,” Rehman said.

He said the government had made life increasingly difficult for ordinary families, with parents struggling to pay their children’s school fees and poor people being deprived of adequate healthcare. He also criticised what he described as a class-based education system.

The JI chief said the government was increasing petrol prices and taxes separately, forcing people to pay thousands of rupees in fuel-related taxes every month, including those who were otherwise outside the tax net.

Rehman rejected the government’s justification that the petroleum levy was being imposed under conditions attached to an IMF programme. He said the government should instead cut its own expenditures and recover taxes from privileged sections of society.

He reiterated the JI’s demand for a reduction in petrol prices to Rs225 per litre and the abolition of the petroleum levy. Rehman also criticised the Punjab government’s publicity spending.

Rehman said the existing “Form 47” representatives lacked public acceptance, vowing that the JI would continue its struggle to bring about fundamental changes to the system.

“We are fighting for the people and against oppression,” he said, adding that the JI was not making demands that could not be implemented and had capable people who could run the country more effectively.

He said the protests outside the Governor Houses in Karachi and Peshawar, along with demonstrations elsewhere in the country, showed that people had taken to the streets to demand their rights.

“We have come here to get our demands accepted and will not retreat,” he said. “The sit-in will continue until the rulers back down, and our struggle will continue.”

The JI’s campaign is also continuing with sit-ins outside the Governor’s House in Karachi and Peshawar.

The party also held countrywide protest demonstrations on August 7.

In a joint statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO), the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Turkiye, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel’s declared rejection of the road map for completing the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict, as endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803, as well as Israel’s rejection of Palestinian statehood.

These positions amounted to a “direct repudiation of the comprehensive plan, jeopardised its comprehensive implementation, and fundamentally undermined the collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace,” it added.

“Such rejection confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory,” the joint statement said.

“The road map, which has been accepted by the Palestinian factions, is the conclusion of extensive efforts exerted by the mediators, namely Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, US, the high representative of Gaza and the Board of Peace, and constituted a vital milestone for the decommissioning of weapons concurrently with the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the deployment of the International Stabilisation Force, the transfer of the administrative authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the reconstruction of Gaza as stipulated in the comprehensive plan,” it reaffirmed.

It asserted that rejecting the road map constituted an “explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of the comprehensive plan and directly threatened to derail the extensive efforts exerted by President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza and establish the conditions for lasting peace”.

In this regard, the foreign ministers underscored the importance of “sustained and active” US engagement to ensure and enforce Israel’s full compliance with the commitments and arrangements envisaged under the comprehensive plan and its road map, and to prevent further obstruction of their implementation, the joint statement added.”

“They further stress that Israel bears direct and full responsibility for any consequences resulting from its continued rejection, obstruction, delay or non-compliance, including any resulting deterioration of the situation on the ground and disruption of ending the war in Gaza.”

According to the joint statement, the foreign ministers reaffirmed the urgent need for the full and immediate implementation of the comprehensive plan to address the “grave humanitarian situation, ensure security and stability for all in Gaza, and pave the way for reconstruction and recovery and the advancement of a just and lasting peace grounded in the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood in accordance with international law, thereby ensuring security and stability for all countries and peoples of the region”.

“They categorically reject any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood including through unilateral actions.”

The statement also reaffirmed that a “just, lasting and comprehensive peace” could only be achieved through the implementation of a two-state solution and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

“Any attempt to deny or foreclose Palestinian statehood therefore directly undermines the prospects for peace, security and stability throughout the region,” it noted.

According to the statement, the foreign ministers underscored the importance of the continued role of the Board of Peace and called on all parties to support its efforts to implement the road map and advance the second phase of President Trump’s comprehensive plan.

“The ministers further call upon the Board of Peace, with the active support and engagement of the United States, to take immediate and concrete measures within its mandate to uphold the integrity of the comprehensive plan and prevent any party from obstructing its implementation,” it concluded.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Gaza plan hailed by US President Donald Trump, vowing no military pullout until Hamas is “genuinely” disarmed.

After more than a week of gradually escalating criticism of the plan, Netanyahu explicitly opposed it as he faced pushback from his right-wing base ahead of elections.

The Israeli military “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens”, Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting.

The document, the latest stage in a US-led ceasefire announced in October that has reduced but not ended Israeli operations in Gaza, said Hamas would surrender weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing body.

The plan said Israel would begin pulling out forces in tandem with the disarmament, an idea adamantly rejected by Israel, which also wants Hamas to destroy its weapons.

After meeting Netanyahu last week, Trump’s body implementing the deal, dubbed the Board of Peace, backtracked and said Israel would only need to withdraw after “complete” disarmament.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, who according to polls is in a tight race to stay in power, has faced calls from his far-right allies to hold a new cabinet vote and end the Gaza plan.

The 41-year-old Portugal captain is ‌one of the most decorated players of all time, winning major trophies with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and his current club Al-Nassr ​since making his senior debut for Sporting in 2002.

Ronaldo, ​a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, was unable to ⁠add a World Cup title to his list of honours ​after Portugal fell short at this year’s tournament, leaving the ​sport’s biggest prize absent from his trophy cabinet.

“This is probably my last year of football, and I want to leave a spectacular legacy,” ​Ronaldo told lifestyle magazine Vogue in an interview published ​on Sunday.

The forward has scored 976 goals for club and country during ‌a ⁠career spanning more than two decades.

“I have so many things to keep me busy that to tell you just one thing is hard. Because football could leave a big hole, ​you have to ​fill your ⁠time in various ways, not just one,” he said.

“And also have more fun, travel more, ​watch and play padel, which I really like, ​and ⁠continue to enjoy what I’ve earned—what we’ve earned. Because after all, it’s been 25 years with a lot of sacrifice.”

Ronaldo will ⁠continue ​playing for Saudi Pro League club ​Al-Nassr this season as he closes in on the milestone of 1,000 career ​goals.