LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — Jamaat-e-Islami will hold a public rally at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on November 29 as part of its campaign against the petroleum levy, party chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said on Wednesday, adding that the government was now considering a phased reduction in the levy.
Speaking at the party’s Mansoora headquarters, Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami would hold a gathering in Quetta on November 22, followed by rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi, and that protests and negotiations with the government would continue side by side until the levy was abolished.
He said about ten rounds of talks had been held. Government negotiators had cited commitments under the International Monetary Fund programme, he said, but had conveyed a willingness to consider reducing the levy gradually, while the party had prepared a final draft with alternative proposals.
Wider relief demanded
Naeem said the government collected about Rs150 billion a month through the petroleum levy but provided only Rs26 billion to Rs30 billion in relief. He called for the relief scheme, which covers motorcycles, rickshaws, and cars of up to 800cc, to be extended to vehicles of up to 1,300cc, farmers’ tractors, and public transport, and proposed higher levies and import duties on vehicles above 1,800cc.
After the latest round of talks in Islamabad on Monday, the party said the two sides had agreed the broad outline of a draft. The government said the discussions had covered relief for consumers, particularly lower-income households, but announced no cut in the levy. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met the party’s delegation.
The party postponed a march on Islamabad in September and has warned that it could resume it if the talks fail. The government cut the petrol price by Rs8 a litre on Monday as oil prices fell.
