ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (APP):Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday met a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) delegation led by Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, with both sides agreeing to set up a joint committee to finalise recommendations on petroleum relief measures and the petroleum levy.
The delegation included JI leaders Liaquat Baloch, Syed Farasat Shah, Nasrullah Randhawa and Inayatullah, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
The prime minister thanked the delegation for choosing the path of dialogue on the issue of petroleum prices.
The JI delegation presented its position on the abolition of the petroleum levy and relief for the public.
The prime minister said he fully understood the burden placed on the people by the increase in petroleum prices. He said the government was making vigorous diplomatic efforts to resolve the regional crisis so that the situation could return to normal.
He said the current situation was not linked to government policies but to the rise in oil prices amid regional and international developments. He added that the government was providing relief to the people according to its financial capacity and would continue to do so.
The prime minister briefed the delegation on the relief provided so far to low-income groups on petroleum products, saying 12.7 million people had been registered under the scheme.
The meeting agreed that a committee comprising three members each from the government and Jamaat-e-Islami would present final recommendations on two matters: expanding the scope of the ongoing petrol relief scheme so that more deserving people can benefit, and formulating workable proposals for a phased reduction in the petroleum levy in the budget.
The prime minister nominated Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Adviser Rana Sanaullah as the government’s representatives on the committee.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Finance and Revenue Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah and Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani also attended the meeting.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
