Government Directs Simple Registration for Fuel Relief Scheme Amid Opposition Criticism

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has rejected the government’s statement on the petroleum relief measures, with the party’s negotiating committee chief Liaquat Baloch saying the petrol relief package has been completely rejected. Liaquat Baloch said the impression created in the government’s statement that JI had welcomed the relief measures was completely false and baseless. He said relief could never be an alternative to abolishing the petroleum levy. He added that JI had made it clear during negotiations that artificial measures would not be acceptable. The JI leader accused the government of spreading false information through the media to divert public pressure. He said the government’s symbolic measures would provide no benefit to the people. “Our clear message is: abolish the levy or there will be a march on Islamabad,” Liaquat Baloch said. Earlier, negotiations were held between JI and a government delegation over the petroleum levy. Liaquat Baloch said the talks started only after JI announced its protest against the levy, scheduled for September 20. He questioned the performance of the prime minister’s task force on petroleum prices, saying Azam Nazeer Tarar and other officials had briefed JI about its work. He said details of an agreement between JI and independent power producers (IPPs) were also presented during the negotiations. Liaquat Baloch said JI’s demand remained the same: the government should provide relief to the people and abolish the petroleum levy. He said JI had completely rejected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Rs100 per litre relief, maintaining that the relief could not replace the petroleum levy. He said ending the levy was the basic demand of JI’s sit-in and march. According to Liaquat Baloch, the government had earlier claimed that relief could not be provided because of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He accused the government of not wanting to provide relief to the people and instead trying to deceive them. Liaquat Baloch said abolishing the levy could benefit the entire economy. He said lower production costs would help the economic cycle and ultimately benefit the public. He also accused the government of patronising mafias and alleged that importers were being favoured to import sugar. “The public reaction will not stop now,” Liaquat Baloch said, reiterating that the Islamabad march would go ahead and that JI had no personal agenda and wanted to protect the public interest. He claimed that abolishing the levy could provide relief of Rs103 per litre to every person. Liaquat Baloch also rejected the prime minister’s relief measures as symbolic, saying they would provide no real benefit. He alleged that money collected through the Climate Support Levy had also been misused instead of being spent on its intended purpose. Regarding IPPs, Liaquat Baloch said matters concerning 55 IPPs had been finalised and negotiations with IPPs had resulted in savings of Rs4,600 billion. He said the government had also indicated that 36 more IPPs would be brought to the final stage. “When such huge savings have been made, why wasn’t the benefit given to the people?” he questioned. Yuri Nakamura, a Japanese-Korean actress, has died on September 1 at the age of 44. Alpha Agency, her agency, announced the devastating news that the actress had rectal cancer. After receiving a cancer diagnosis thirteen years ago, Nakamura chose to keep her illness a secret while undergoing treatment and going into remission.