ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on Sunday the government had established a committee to discuss demands laid by a Pakistani religious political party protesting rising costs of living by holding a sit-in in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Thousands of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party supporters have camped at Rawalpindi’s historic Liaqat Bagh ground to demand the government revoke additional taxes introduced in the federal budget presented last month, among other demands.
JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has demanded a reduction in power tariffs recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and a review of Pakistan’s loss-making agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).
The JI has also called on the Pakistani government to provide a 50 percent “relief” to people who consumed up to 500 units of electricity, abolish petroleum levy, and withdraw a recent hike in petroleum prices.
“The JI has presented 10 demands which will be discussed with the technical committee tomorrow to assess the available fiscal space,” Tarar told reporters, after the first round of talks with representatives of the JI.
“A technical committee has been formed, which includes the Minister of Water and Energy, the Secretary of Energy, and representatives from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Finance Ministry.”
Tarar said the government aimed to resolve the issue in the next phase of talks with a “positive attitude” and to ensure a “respectful conclusion.”
The government established a three-member committee on Friday to negotiate with JI leaders after the party reported that hundreds of its members had been arrested by law enforcement agencies. The JI presented its list of demands to the government during a round of talks on Saturday night.
Tarar said efforts were being made to reduce the expenses of state-owned enterprises and fiscal space would be created with the digitization of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), allowing for relief to be passed on to the public.
“The government has provided a Rs50 billion subsidy for consumers using up to 200 units of electricity during the three-month summer period to help reduce their electricity bills and ease their financial burden,” he said.
Regarding the sit-in, the minister said Liaquat Bagh had been designated as the location and hoped that participants would stay inside the venue to avoid traffic snarl-ups and road closures.
Liaqat Baloch, head of the JI negotiation team, said the first round of talks was held in a “positive environment” and expressed the resolve to continue the sit-in until the party’s demands were met.
“The government committee has promised to discuss our demands in a technical committee and will get back to us tomorrow,” he said. “Our protest and sit-in will continue until we achieve positive results for the people.”
Baloch hoped the government would show seriousness in addressing the public’s demands.
“Otherwise, this force of people will compel them to take our demands seriously,” he added.
Speaking about the arrested JI workers, Baloch said the government committee had assured them of their release.
“Thirty-five of our members are still detained, but the government committee assured us they will be released soon as we have provided the list,” he said.
Separately, the power division refuted claims that the government was providing free electricity to parliamentarians and bureaucrats.
“There is no truth in providing free electricity to the members of parliament and bureaucrats,” it said, in response to some media reports.
No government institution was being provided free electricity either, the power division added.