JI chief meets PM Shehbaz to discuss petroleum levy, inflation

Hafiz Naeem has threatened a march on Islamabad in mid-November if government fails to abolish levy and provide relief

ISLAMABAD:

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman arrived at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad on Tuesday to meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and discuss a range of issues, particularly the petroleum levy and rising inflation, which have placed a burden on ordinary citizens.

The JI delegation includes Vice chief Liaquat Baloch, Deputy Secretary General Syed Farasat Shah and Islamabad chapter chief Nasrullah Randhawa.

The government delegation comprises Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Senator Rana Sanaullah, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, who are accompanying the prime minister.

Rehman is expected to brief the media after the meeting.

A day earlier, Rehman had warned that his party would march towards Islamabad in mid-November if the government failed to abolish the petroleum levy and provide relief to the public.

Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, he said JI would continue its campaign against the levy until the government accepted its demands. He acknowledged that the government had provided some relief in petroleum prices following the party’s protests but maintained that the measures were insufficient to call off the march.

The JI chief also condemned the imposition of an emergency in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, describing it as a violation of human rights, and demanded its withdrawal.

In September, Rehman had agreed to the government’s request to postpone a planned long march from Karachi over the same demands.

This story is being updated.