JI seeks fuel relief for 1,000cc vehicles, agriculture sector

ISLAMABAD: The negotiation meeting between government and Jamaat-e-Islami committees concluded on Tuesday, with both sides agreeing on an outline for a possible agreement, Liaquat Baloch said.

Speaking to the media after the 10th round of talks, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaquat Baloch said the government had acknowledged that the global situation was creating difficulties in the supply of petroleum products.

He said it had been decided to expand the existing relief package and provide further relief to the public.

Liaquat Baloch said the government was responsible for holding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure the relief scheme continued.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami had proposed including vehicles up to 1,000cc and the agriculture sector in the relief scheme.

The JI leader said the government had acknowledged that the demand for abolishing the petroleum levy was justified.

“We have demanded the immediate abolition of the levy and visible relief for the public,” he said.

He added that the government had sought time to present its future strategy regarding the elimination of the levy.

Liaquat Baloch said the government was unwilling to give up its luxuries, while the public continued to bear the burden of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) failures.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami had presented its demands during the negotiations and that an outline of an agreement had been settled in the meeting.

The government would brief Jamaat-e-Islami on the agreed outline, after which the party would decide whether to launch a long march, he added.

He said the next meeting between the two sides would take place next Wednesday or Thursday.

Liaquat Baloch said the final decision on the agreement would be taken during another possible meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.

He claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest had helped secure relief in petroleum prices, adding that the public had received relief of Rs146 per litre on diesel and Rs120 per litre on petrol.

“We will walk out of the negotiations the day we feel there is no benefit in continuing them,” he said.