ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has said that the government and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) agreed to form committees to discuss ways to provide relief to the public.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Lahore on Thursday along with JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman and Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Iqbal said the government had already constituted a committee and asked the JI to form its own team.
“We have formed a committee and have also requested the Jamaat-e-Islami to form a team,” the planning minister said. He added that the government is ready to hold talks with the JI’s negotiating team and would present its position before it.
“If the Jamaat-e-Islami has proposals to reduce the petroleum levy, we will be happy to consider them,” Iqbal said, adding that the government wanted to provide maximum relief to the public. The presser was held amid JI’s nationwide strike against the petroleum levy and inflation, which received a mixed response as markets and shops partially closed in parts of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), while businesses largely remained open in Punjab and Balochistan. –Agencies
