JI Refuses PM Meeting Without Petroleum Levy Abolition Pledge

News Desk

LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has formally ruled out engaging in talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif unless the federal government provides a firm, actionable commitment to abolish the petroleum levy.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s Mansoorah headquarters on Saturday, the JI chief cautioned the coalition administration that the party would announce the final schedule for its planned march on Islamabad after October 12 if immediate economic relief is not granted to inflation-weary citizens.

The political impasse comes after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached out through Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, urging the JI leadership to postpone its agitation and participate in direct dialogue at the Prime Minister’s House.

Iqbal had conveyed the premier’s overture to JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch earlier in the week. However, Rehman insisted that talks would remain a futile exercise without prior guarantees, pointing to contradictory statements from cabinet ministers suggesting the levy would stay in place.

“If the petroleum levy is not abolished, we have no desire to meet the prime minister,” he asserted, demanding that authorities pass on the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s reported $5-per-barrel price cut for Asian crude to domestic consumers.

The confrontation highlights intensifying public and political resistance against high fuel taxes, which remain a cornerstone of Pakistan’s fiscal stabilization commitments under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.

As the government relies heavily on indirect taxation, including petroleum levies, to meet stringent revenue benchmarks, opposition factions are capitalizing on widespread public discontent over soaring utility tariffs and diminishing purchasing power across urban centers.

Looking ahead, JI’s central leadership is slated to convene following the October 12 deadline to finalize operational strategies for a nationwide mobilization toward the federal capital.

Observers note that while the federal government is attempting to defuse tension through backchannel diplomacy, its limited fiscal maneuvering space poses a substantial barrier to meeting the party’s uncompromising demands without jeopardizing state revenues.