LAHORE: A government delegation on Thursday met Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman at Mansoorah and offered negotiations on the party’s demand for withdrawal of the petroleum levy, as the JI’s nationwide shutter-down strike was observed across the country.
The delegation comprising Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah and Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique held talks with the JI chief and later addressed a joint press conference.
Rehman made it clear that JI sit-ins and protests in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and other cities would continue during the negotiations and until the party’s demands were accepted.
“The sit-ins will continue throughout the negotiation process. JI’s peaceful struggle should not be mistaken for weakness.”
He constituted a five-member committee, headed by JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch, to negotiate with the government on the petroleum levy. The committee includes Deputy Secretary Syed Firasat Shah, JI KP North Emir Inayat Ullah Khan JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa and Naveed Ali Baig.
JI Special Assistant Umair Idrees, JI Information Secretary Shakil Ahmed Turabi and JI Social Media head Salman Sheikh also attended the meeting and presser. The JI chief said the ongoing protests, now in their 19th day, were not aimed at securing political gains but sought relief for ordinary citizens from inflation, high electricity prices and taxes on petroleum products.
He said more than Rs130 per litre was being collected from consumers in petroleum levy and other taxes, arguing that the government had failed to provide relief despite declining international oil prices and the difficult economic conditions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026