Vice Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Liaquat Baloch, has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to announce relief for the public during a proposed meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman. He stressed that the meeting should take place within a week and must not be reduced to a mere photo opportunity.
He made this demand while speaking to journalists after talks between Jamaat-e-Islami and government negotiating committees regarding the petroleum levy on Saturday. He stated that the government must stop the injustice being inflicted upon the public in the name of the levy.
"We will continue negotiations but will not abandon the path of protest," he said, adding that both sides have formed a technical committee to examine the issues. Earlier, the two committees held talks at Punjab House to discuss the petroleum levy and potential relief for consumers.
The Jamaat-e-Islami delegation, led by Liaquat Baloch, included Deputy Secretary Syed Farasat Shah, Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, and North Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Emir Inayatullah Khan. The government team comprised Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan, and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani.
The technical committee consists of Bilal Azhar Kayani, Nasrullah Randhawa, and Syed Farasat Shah. The committee will meet within two to three days to examine outstanding issues.
Liaquat noted that Jamaat-e-Islami's campaign for public relief included sit-ins, protests, and a train march from Karachi to Multan. The Prime Minister contacted the party when the train march reached Multan and requested its postponement.
Jamaat-e-Islami agreed to engage with the government committee to ensure progress before the proposed meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Naeemur Rehman. He stated that the actual price of petrol is Rs242.66 per litre and diesel is Rs246.80 per litre, while the government is collecting an additional Rs162 per litre on petrol and Rs148 on diesel in taxes.
He noted that the government has collected Rs1,568 billion through the petroleum levy. He argued that taxes beyond essential government revenue requirements are placing an excessive burden on consumers.
Welcoming the relief extended to motorcyclists and rickshaw users, he called for similar concessions for other vehicle owners. The Jamaat-e-Islami leader criticized the government's financial policies, noting that banks earn interest on funds lent to the government while ordinary account holders receive no comparable returns on their current-account deposits.
He added that the government is delaying decisions on Independent Power Producers (آئی پی پیز) and refusing to curb its own expenditure, exploiting the petroleum levy to extract money from the public while misleading the International Monetary Fund (آئی ایم ایف).