JI, govt panels to hold talks on Friday to work out plan for meeting between PM Shehbaz, Naeem

JI, govt panels to hold talks on Friday to work out plan for meeting between PM Shehbaz, Naeem

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) has said it will hold talks with the government on Friday regarding its demand to abolish the petroleum levy and on further high-level contacts between them. The committee-level talks were fixed following a telephonic conversation between JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, according to a press release issued by JI on Thursday. JI has been demanding for over two months that the Centre abolish the levies — Rs114 per litre on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel — as the total prices have skyrocketed due to conflicts in the Middle East since March. Friday’s talks between the two sides’ negotiating committees will take place at Punjab House in Islamabad, where they will also work out a schedule for a proposed meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, JI stated. According to the statement, despite the planned talks, Baloch reiterated his party’s call for countrywide protests tomorrow (Friday). “JI will hold peaceful protests at district headquarters across the country on Friday to demand the abolition of unjust petroleum levy,” Baloch was quoted as saying. The party would continue its protests alongside negotiations with the government, he declared. “The campaign is not about the party’s interests but aimed to secure public relief, reduce unbearable production costs and revive economic activity.” The party vice chair also called a meeting of the JI negotiating committee in Islamabad ahead of the talks. According to the JI statement, Iqbal, who heads the government’s negotiating committee, informed Baloch that the meeting had initially been planned for Tuesday or Wednesday but was postponed because of the government’s “urgent engagements”. Baloch, in the press release, argued that reducing the burden of petroleum levies and payments to independent power producers (IPPs) was essential to easing pressure on households, agriculture, industry, trade and small businesses. “Such measures could help revive economic activity and create employment opportunities,” he emphasised. The JI leader claimed governments were often reluctant to give up unjust taxes and rarely acknowledged the role of protest movements in securing public relief. “Previous relief measures were announced under pressure from public sit-ins and had been implemented through flawed methods that failed to produce a positive impact on the national economy,” Baloch said as per the press release. He also called on the government and other institutions to acknowledge their mistakes and avoid constitutional measures that could deepen the political crisis. The JI leader urged all stakeholders to engage in a national dialogue and agree on priorities to steer the country out of its political and economic difficulties. “JI’s negotiating committee has already identified possible options and available fiscal space within the constraints imposed by the IMF programme and the national budget,” Baloch was quoted as saying. “The government and the prime minister’s team must now demonstrate the political will to provide relief to the public.” “If the government failed to meet the party’s demand, JI will proceed with its planned long march from Multan,” he warned, referring to the protest that it had launched towards Islamabad but postponed at PM Shehbaz’s request. On Aug 16, the JI announced sit-ins in all the provincial capitals of Pakistan against the petroleum levy and had called for a nationwide strike on Sept 3. However, when the day arrived, the two sides agreed to form committees to recommend measures to reduce the levies. On Sept 20, the party launched a protest march towards Islamabad, warning that if the government failed to abolish the petroleum levy, the protest could turn into one to oust the government. However, on Sept 22, the JI emir said his party, whose convoy had reached Multan, was postponing its long march at the request of PM Shehbaz, who had assured the other side of a meeting to discuss the matters. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the JI claimed that the government had made no further contact regarding a planned meeting between Rehman and PM Shehbaz, which the latter had offered to hold. The press release recalled that Iqbal and the PM’s adviser on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, had contacted the JI vice emir to convey the premier’s message seeking a meeting.