The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Thursday announced it is “postponing” its sit-in at Rawalpindi following successful negotiations with the government over its demands for lowered power tariffs and a review of agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).
“We are deferring, not ending the sit-in,” announced JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman after the conclusion of a fifth round of talks between the government’s negotiating team and the JI. However, he added, the party would return and stage further demonstrations if the government failed to implement the party’s demands.
Rehman said the JI would next organize a rally on the Islamabad Highway today (Friday) to announce its future course of action. The party had earlier announced it would stage a sit-in outside the Punjab Chief Minister’s House on Aug. 11 (Sunday).
In his address, JI deputy chief Liaquat Baloch said the government had agreed to the party’s demand to impose taxes on landowners and reduce taxes on the salaried class in stages. He said Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi had signed the agreement on the government’s behalf, adding both sides agreed to review agreements with independent power producers (IPPs). He said the government would form a task force for this purpose, adding it would present its report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif within a month.
According to Baloch, both sides also agreed that all matters related to the IPPs and the energy sector would be monitored in future. He said the government had committed to reducing the price of electricity over the next one-and-a-half months.
The JI leader said a committee would be tasked with addressing the reservations of traders and committees designated by the government and the JI would continue to meet in this regard.
Confirming the agreement, the interior minister promised that the power tariff would seen start to decline. “All of us intend to provide relief to people. We have pledged that the power tariff will be reduced in any form, which will be visible to you,” he stressed.
The information minister, meanwhile, recalled that the prime minister had already announced a Rs. 50 billion subsidy for consumers using up to 200 units during the months of June-August.