Govt, JI committees to schedule Shehbaz-Hafiz Naeem meeting on levy: Liaqat Baloch

Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has contacted Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch and conveyed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message regarding talks on the petroleum levy.

Baloch said the prime minister had asked Ahsan Iqbal, who heads the government committee on the petroleum levy issue, to coordinate with the JI committee and finalise a mutually agreed schedule for a meeting between him and JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman.

He said the government and JI committees would hold consultations soon to finalise the schedule and discuss the petroleum levy issue.

According to Baloch, the meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman would focus on the abolition of the petroleum levy. Rehman would also discuss matters relating to independent power producers (IPPs) agreements and reduction in electricity prices with the prime minister.

Baloch made it clear that JI’s demand was unambiguous, saying the party had repeatedly stated that the petroleum levy was an unjust tax and should be abolished completely.

He said JI had been campaigning against the petroleum levy for the past two months. In the first phase, roads were blocked at 510 locations, while sit-ins continued at more than 40 locations for five weeks.

In the third phase, JI launched a “Super Long March” from Karachi towards Islamabad. Baloch said the march had been paused at the prime minister’s request.

He expressed hope that the prime minister would honour the assurances given to Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman and announce a major relief package for the people soon.