Petroleum Levy Talks: Govt Reaches Out to JI Ahead of Friday Protest

Jamaat-e-Islami supporters at a protest march — file photo

Pakistan's government has made a fresh push for talks with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) over the controversial petroleum levy, just a day before the party launches the third phase of its nationwide protest movement. Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal contacted JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch on Wednesday, and negotiating committees from both sides are scheduled to meet in Islamabad on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman are also expected to meet, according to Baloch. The outreach comes as JI prepares sit-ins in every district across the country starting Friday, October 23, demanding the complete abolition of the levy on petrol and diesel.

The government and JI had agreed in early September to form committees to recommend ways to reduce the levy, after which JI postponed its long march at the prime minister's request. JI has already staged sit-ins at 510 locations and a nationwide shutdown strike in its campaign against rising fuel prices and inflation, and says it will seek written assurances before calling off its agitation.

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