ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) deputy chief Liaqat Baloch said on Thursday that negotiations with the government on the petroleum levy had reached their final stage, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif bore the responsibility for making the talks successful.

He warned that JI would be justified in launching a protest march if the government failed to provide relief to the people.

Speaking to journalists after chairing a party meeting on the petroleum levy issue in Islamabad, he said JI had made every effort to give the negotiation process a chance and demonstrate its commitment to a peaceful resolution. However, the party’s ultimate objective was not temporary but sustainable relief that could revive economic activity, he added.

Mr Baloch also contacted Deputy PM Ishaq Dar and the government negotiating committee’s chairman, Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, urging them to finalise decisions on the issue. Mr Dar informed him that he was attending a meeting with visiting diplomatic leaders and would communicate the government’s next steps by the following day to make the negotiations result-oriented.

During the meeting, JI experts briefed the party leadership on the progress of negotiations with the government. A joint technical committee has been constituted to finalise proposals for resolving the petroleum levy issue.

Earlier, a meeting of the joint technical experts was held at the finance ministry. JI representatives informed Mr Baloch that they were still awaiting government directives to enable the technical committee to reach a final decision on the levy.

Mr Baloch said all rounds of negotiations, as well as the meeting between the PM and JI chief, had established an understanding that the government would provide relief to consumers and gradually abolish what he described as an unjust tax.