JI submits six proposals to govt for abolition of petroleum levy

The first round of negotiations between delegations from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the federal government regarding the abolition of the petroleum levy and provision of relief to the public concluded on Monday in Islamabad, with the former submitting six key proposals to the government committee and agreeing to hold the next session on September 10.

The JI delegation was led by Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch, accompanied by Deputy Secretary Syed Farasat Shah, KP North Emir Inayatullah Khan, Lahore Emir Zia-ur-Rehman Ansari, Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa, Al-Khidmat CEO Karachi Naveed Ali Baig and Shahid Naeem. The government side was headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, alongside Adviser to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Baloch stated that they presented six detailed proposals to the premier’s designated team, emphasising that the direct 80-rupee petroleum levy per litre on petrol and diesel was severely impacting the national economy.

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

Read: Govt, JI agree to form technical committees to review petroleum levy

Baloch added that the primary objective remained providing immediate relief to the public, urging rulers to cut state expenditures as sufficient budgetary margin existed to accommodate tax relief. He also expressed concern over unfulfilled government commitments made during previous talks regarding independent power producers (IPP) protests and the Balochistan Long March, stating that daily petroleum pricing should be discontinued, further noting that current subsidy structures had failed.

Iqbal stated that the government had invited JI for talks to seek their actionable suggestions, which had now been formally received. He noted that the relevant government institutions would review these recommendations and any impractical points would be discussed openly with JI during the upcoming session.

He mentioned that the government never desired to overburden citizens, but global economies had been disrupted by regional tensions, including the war in Iran, adding that petroleum prices would naturally ease once regional conflicts de-escalated.

On Sunday, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman warned the government of expanding the party’s protest movement if its demands were not accepted, saying the next phase could include wheel-jam and shutter-down strikes, closure of petrol stations and a long march towards Islamabad.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s sit-in at Faisal Chowk on Mall Road, he accused the government of shifting the burden of its “incompetence, poor governance and failure to collect taxes” onto the public.

Read More: JI to widen protest if demands not met

Rehman said the protest was not aimed at securing a political benefit for any party but at seeking relief for citizens facing rising costs. Inflation, he added, had made education, healthcare and other basic services increasingly unaffordable.

The JI chief criticised the petroleum levy, calling it a “jagga tax”, and claimed that taxes of around Rs130 were included in the price of petroleum products, with the government directly collecting more than Rs105.

Rehman claimed that the government had collected more than Rs4 trillion through the petroleum levy and demanded that it explain where the money had been spent.

He also criticised the Federal Board of Revenue for failing to meet its tax targets and questioned capacity payments made to IPPs for electricity that, according to him, were neither generated nor supplied.

The JI chief said the government had reduced petrol and diesel prices following the protests but had failed to provide transparency in the mechanism used to determine petroleum prices.