Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has said the government and Jamaat-e-Islami have agreed to form committees to discuss ways to provide relief to the public. Speaking at a joint press conference in Lahore on Thursday along with Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Iqbal said the government had already constituted a committee and asked the Jamaat-e-Islami to form its own team. "We have formed a committee and have also requested Jamaat-e-Islami to form a team," the planning minister said. He added that the government was ready to hold talks with the Jamaat-e-Islami's negotiating team and would present its position before it. "If the Jamaat-e-Islami has proposals to reduce the petroleum levy, we will be happy to consider them," Iqbal said, adding that the government wanted to provide maximum relief to the public.

The presser was held amid Jamaat-e-Islami's nationwide strike against the petroleum levy and inflation, which received a mixed response as markets and shops partially closed in parts of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while businesses largely remained open in Punjab and Balochistan. The party has also been holding sit-ins for 18 days in provincial capitals and other cities as part of its campaign against the petroleum levy and rising inflation. Sanaullah said Hafiz Naeem had told the government that the Jamaat-e-Islami had proposals that could provide relief to the people. "The government will implement the Jamaat-e-Islami's workable proposals," he said.

Hafiz Naeem, during the presser, said that the Jamaat-e-Islami had formed a committee under the leadership of Liaquat Baloch for negotiations with the government. He said the party's demands included reducing petrol prices and petroleum levy, lowering electricity costs, and bringing down the price of bread. "Petroleum levy should be abolished and the price of petrol should also be reduced," Hafiz Naeem said. The Jamaat-e-Islami Emir said the party had no desire to stage sit-ins but had taken the step because of problems faced by the public. He claimed that poverty had increased by 33 percent nationwide over the past six years and said inflation had made life difficult for people. Hafiz Naeem also criticised the petroleum levy, saying 8 trillion rupees had been collected since its introduction and the government had exceeded its levy collection target this year. Hafiz Naeem said the sit-ins would continue alongside talks with the government.

Iqbal thanked Hafiz Naeem for listening to the government's position in a "constructive manner," adding that the prevailing situation required collective efforts to maintain internal peace. The Jamaat-e-Islami had announced a nationwide strike against the petroleum levy, rising fuel prices, and inflation on 3 September. In Sindh, several commercial areas in Karachi observed the strike, with Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Munim Zafar claiming more than 300 small and large markets were closed. Markets in Federal B Area, Water Pump, Liaquatabad, and Teen Hatti also remained largely closed. The Karachi Bar Association supported the strike and said it would hold a peaceful rally from the Sindh High Court to the Karachi Press Club against inflation. The orange line بی آر ٹی (BRT) service remained suspended from the morning due to the Jamaat-e-Islami sit-in, while the Green Line continued operating normally.