Pakistan forms joint JI-government committee to broaden fuel relief amid levy protests

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal told reporters that a joint committee of Jamaat-i-Islami and the government will be set up to consider enlarging one outlet fuel relief scheme and to develop concrete steps for eliminating the petroleum levy in the upcoming budget. The six-member body will include three JI figures—Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch, Deputy Secretary General Syed Farasat Shah and Islamabad Emir Nasrullah Randhawa—and three government officials: Iqbal, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Prime Minister’s political adviser Rana Sanaullah.

The move follows a meeting between JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after which Rehman announced a mid-November march to Islamabad unless the government delivers a major relief package and a mechanism to abolish the levy. He criticized a proposed Rs20-30 reduction as insufficient, insisting on full removal. Both parties said negotiations will continue, but emphasized the need for stability amid rising fuel prices driven by Middle-East conflicts.