JI links meeting with PM to petroleum levy cut pledge

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has stated that he will not meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif without a promise to abolish the petroleum levy. The JI leader warned that the party would announce a date for its Islamabad march after October 12 if the government fails to provide relief. At a press conference in Mansoorah, Rehman denied statements by ministers that the levy would not be abolished.

He said that if the levy remains in place, there would be no desire to meet the prime minister. The prime minister had initially requested a meeting with Rehman after asking the party to suspend its protest march against the levy. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal conveyed the premier's message to JI vice chief Liaqat Baloch to arrange the meeting.

However, Rehman insisted that talks would be pointless without assurances regarding the acceptance of the party's demand. He called for meaningful relief for consumers and urged the government to capitalize on Saudi Arabia's reported $5-per-barrel reduction in oil prices for Asian countries. The party had staged sit-ins for 42 days against the levy and continued its nationwide public meetings and signature campaign.

A public meeting in Okara was scheduled for Sunday. Rejecting the government's argument of being constrained by the IMF, Rehman questioned the spending on luxurious items like an aircraft worth Rs11 billion. Regarding Punjab, he blamed "four decades of family rule" for issues in education and agriculture. He claimed that 11,000 schools had been sold and another 25,000 were reportedly listed for sale.

Rising agricultural costs were cited, with the price of a 50kg bag of DAP fertiliser increasing by Rs3,000. Farmers received Rs3,000 per maund for wheat, while flour prices exceeded Rs6,000 per maund and wheat prices crossed Rs5,000 per maund. Citing World Bank poverty estimates, Rehman stated that Pakistan's poverty rate was 23%, while it exceeded 40% under the country's own criteria. Punjab had experienced the largest increase in poverty over the past five years.