Next round of JI-govt talks on petroleum levy rescheduled for Tuesday

LAHORE: The third round of talks between Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the government to abolish the petroleum levy will be held on September 15 (Tuesday) following an extension request from the latter, the party said on Sunday.

According to a statement via the party’s information department, the next round of negotiations was initially scheduled for Monday. However, the talks regarding petroleum levy were postponed to Tuesday on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request, the JI claimed.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal conveyed the government’s message to JI Vice President Liaquat Baloch, as per the statement.

He added that the negotiations on the issues concerning independent power producers (IPPs) will be held on Wednesday.

Baloch said that during the talks, JI will present its stance on the petroleum levy and on IPPs.

So far, two rounds of negotiations have been held.

The talks began after the two sides agreed to form committees comprising experts to discuss recommendations for reducing the petroleum levy and providing relief to the public.

The government levies Rs114 per litre in taxes and duties on petrol and Rs100 per litre on diesel.

In the first round held on September 7, JI submitted six key proposals to the government committee. At the time, Baloch had said his party emphasised that the “direct Rs80 petroleum levy per litre on petrol and diesel is severely impacting the national economy”.

He clarified that peaceful sit-ins and protests across the country would continue while negotiations proceeded.

The government’s latest round of engagements with the party began in response to sit-ins against the petroleum levy in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and dozens of other locations across the country, which JI has been staging since August 16.

On Saturday, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned the government that the ongoing protest would march towards Islamabad on September 20 if the levy was not withdrawn.