Baloch Says Ending Petroleum Levy Must Top Agenda as PM Seeks Meeting with JI Emir

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants to meet Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman to discuss the removal of the petroleum levy, the JI said on Monday.

The development came after Rana Sanaullah Khan, the prime minister’s special assistant, contacted JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch by telephone to discuss negotiations on the levy and arrangements for a meeting between the prime minister and the JI chief.

According to the JI information department, Rana Sanaullah told Liaqat Baloch that Shehbaz Sharif wanted to meet Hafiz Naeem as promised.

Meetings between the negotiating committees of the government and JI are also likely to take place before the proposed meeting between the two leaders. The committees are expected to discuss a clear agenda and specific points for ending the petroleum levy to help secure meaningful relief for the public.

Baloch said abolishing the petroleum levy was the party’s top priority, adding that its removal would provide genuine relief to people struggling with rising living costs.

He said JI had temporarily paused its super long march at the prime minister’s request but had not abandoned its campaign for public relief.

The party continues to hold public rallies and run a nationwide signature campaign against the levy, he added.

Liaqat Baloch said JI would continue its movement until the government delivered a substantial relief package to the people. He stressed that the removal of the petroleum levy remained the party’s central demand and that negotiations must produce tangible progress on the issue.