JI, Govt to Hold Talks on Petroleum Levy on Friday

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and government will hold talks on the petroleum levy on Friday, October 23, following a telephone conversation between Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal and JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch.

The meeting 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 Naeem ur Rehman.

According to a JI statement, Iqbal, who heads the government’s negotiating committee, informed Liaqat Baloch that the joint meeting had initially been planned for Tuesday or Wednesday but was postponed because of the government’s urgent engagements.

Meanwhile, Baloch has called a meeting of the JI negotiating committee in Islamabad ahead of the talks.

He said JI would hold peaceful protests at district headquarters across the country on Friday, demanding the abolition of what he called the unjust petroleum levy. He added that the party would continue its protests alongside negotiations with the government.

He said the campaign was not about the party’s interests but aimed to secure public relief, reduce unbearable production costs and revive economic activity.

He 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, he said, could help revive economic activity and create employment opportunities.

The JI leader said governments were often reluctant to give up unjust taxes and rarely acknowledged the role of protest movements in securing public relief. He maintained that previous relief measures announced under pressure from public sit-ins had been implemented through flawed methods that failed to produce a positive impact on the national economy.

Baloch also called on the government and other powerful institutions to acknowledge their mistakes and avoid constitutional measures that could deepen the political crisis. He urged all stakeholders to engage in a national dialogue and agree on priorities to steer the country out of its political and economic difficulties.

He said JI’s negotiating committee had already identified possible options and available fiscal space within the constraints imposed by the IMF programme and the national budget. The government and the prime minister’s team must now demonstrate the political will to provide relief to the public, he added.

Baloch warned that if the government failed to meet the party’s demand, JI would proceed with its planned long march from Multan.