Government and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) negotiators held another round of talks in Islamabad on Tuesday, November 3, over the petroleum levy and relief for the public, with JI leaders saying the negotiations have reached their final stage. A working paper on the levy and a relief package is expected by Wednesday, according to JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch.
The outcome matters because the levy feeds directly into fuel prices paid by households, farmers and transporters, and any phased reduction would change the cost of everyday travel and goods. JI has made the levy a central public demand, while the government must balance relief against revenue.
According to a Foreign Office statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met a JI delegation led by Baloch at the Foreign Office, and both sides held candid discussions on practical measures to provide relief to the common man, particularly low-income citizens facing rising energy costs. The statement said both sides agreed to continue consultations over the coming days to formulate a way forward on petroleum pricing and public relief.
Baloch told reporters after the meeting that the talks had reached their culminating stage and that the government had acknowledged the validity of JI’s demands after the party’s nationwide protest campaign and its presentation of six demands. He said the two sides had agreed on relief for the agriculture sector, public transport and certain categories of vehicles.
Baloch said the government would complete its work on Tuesday night, including work on oil refinery profits and the gradual elimination of the petroleum levy, while JI would finalise its side on Wednesday. After a review of the final draft agreement, JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman would announce the party’s future course of action, he said.
The government side has also stressed the limits it faces, telling negotiators it has extended every possible relief on petroleum prices and is striving to give further relief. Government negotiators have said petroleum prices depend on international prices, which are increasing.
Earlier in the day, sources told ARY News that a round of talks had ended without progress and that the government was not ready to end the levy. That account differs from the later final-stage description given by JI, and no final agreement or levy-removal date had been announced by the time of publication.
The talks follow an earlier agreement to set up a six-member joint committee, with three members from each side, to develop proposals for expanding the existing fuel relief scheme and gradually reducing the levy. The Prime Minister’s Office has previously said 12.7 million people have registered in the subsidy scheme, which was rolled out on September 17 for owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and vehicles of up to 800cc.
| Side | Representatives |
|---|---|
| Government | Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah |
| Jamaat-e-Islami | Liaquat Baloch, Syed Farasat Shah, Nasrullah Randhawa |
JI has warned that if the government fails to accept its demands on energy tariffs and fuel taxes, it will carry out its planned long march from Multan to Islamabad in mid-November. What is confirmed is the final-stage claim and the working paper timetable; what is not confirmed is a final agreement, the scale of any levy reduction, or whether the long march will go ahead.
