Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to meet Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman within the next two days. The PM JI chief meeting follows a round of telephone contacts between the government and the JI leadership over the petroleum levy issue.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has contacted JI deputy chief Liaquat Baloch. The prime minister’s special assistant on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, also contacted the JI leader by phone.
How the meeting was arranged
Iqbal held a telephone conversation with Baloch. Sanaullah made a separate call to the JI leader.
Baloch said members of the government committee dealing with the petroleum levy issue had briefed the prime minister on the progress made so far.
He added that both Iqbal and Sanaullah informed him that a meeting between Shehbaz and Rehman was expected within the next two days.
The sequence matters. Committee level talks came first, the prime minister was briefed on their progress, and only then was a meeting at the top level arranged. That order suggests the government believes the talks have reached a point where the two leaders can settle what remains.
The petroleum levy dispute
The petroleum levy sits at the centre of the dispute between the government and the JI. The party has campaigned against fuel taxes and price rises, arguing that they hit ordinary households hardest.
The government committee dealing with the issue has been in contact with the JI leadership through the current round of talks. Baloch’s account indicates that the committee has now reported back to the prime minister, a step that usually precedes a decision rather than another round of discussion.
No details of the committee’s progress have been made public. Neither side has said what, if anything, has been agreed, or what remains in dispute.
What the PM JI chief meeting could settle
A meeting between Shehbaz and Rehman would lift the talks from committee level to the top of both sides. That shift raises the stakes: a meeting at this level is expected to produce a direction, even if it does not produce a final deal.
For the government, the meeting offers a chance to close a dispute that has generated street protests and political pressure. For the JI, it offers direct access to the prime minister on an issue the party has made its own.
The history of this dispute gives the meeting its context. Our report on the government-JI meeting on October 23 covered the last round of talks, while our report on the JI chief’s Islamabad march over petrol taxes and our report on the JI’s third wave of Friday protests show how the party has kept pressure on the streets. Our report on daily fuel prices at petrol pumps sets out what motorists actually pay while the talks continue.
What happens next
The meeting is expected within two days. Its outcome will show whether the committee talks produced enough common ground for the two leaders to close the gap, or whether the dispute returns to the streets and to further rounds of negotiation.
For now, both sides have signalled that they are ready to talk at the top. The test of that readiness comes when Shehbaz and Rehman sit down.
Source reporting: The Express Tribune.
When will Shehbaz Sharif meet Hafiz Naeemur Rehman?
A meeting between the prime minister and the JI chief is expected within the next two days, according to JI deputy chief Liaquat Baloch.
Who arranged the meeting?
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal contacted Baloch by phone, and the prime minister’s special assistant on political affairs, Rana Sanaullah, also contacted the JI leader.
What is the meeting about?
The meeting follows talks on the petroleum levy issue, on which a government committee has briefed the prime minister on progress so far.
Has the government met the JI on this issue before?
Yes. Committee level talks have already taken place, including the meeting covered in our October 23 report, and the JI has campaigned on fuel taxes through marches and Friday protests.
