JI demands 3% policy rate cut

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has demanded a three-percentage-point reduction in the policy rate and said the party will hold its planned march on Islamabad on September 20, warning that any attempt by the government to obstruct the march would be its responsibility. Addressing a press conference at the JI sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly, Hafiz Naeem said the government's relief package was a welcome step but insufficient. He said abolishing the petroleum levy was more important than the package. The JI chief said protests against the petroleum levy had continued for 30 days in around 40 cities and had developed into a national movement.