The government and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) will hold the final round of talks on abolishing the petroleum levy and a relief package for the public on Tuesday, 10 November, 24NewsHD reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar contacted JI deputy chief Liaqat Baloch by telephone on Friday, and the two discussed the negotiations in detail, Daily Pakistan and Express News reported.

Express News quoted the deputy prime minister as saying that JI's protest had achieved many of its goals for public relief. The final draft of an agreement is to be approved by the leadership of both sides, and Liaqat Baloch said JI chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman would personally review the draft agreed by both sides. After consultation with him and other party leaders, the progress of the talks and the next course of action will be announced.

Earlier, Daily Pakistan Urdu reported that committees of the two sides were to meet in Islamabad to prepare a draft agreement on phasing out the levy on petroleum products. According to sources cited by the outlet, the government has agreed to a phased elimination of the levy, relief for 1000cc vehicles and relief in the agriculture sector.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday after chairing a party meeting on the issue, Baloch said negotiations had reached the final stage and that responsibility for their success rested with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Business Recorder.

Baloch also warned that JI would be justified in launching a long march if the government failed to provide relief to people hit by inflation, Business Recorder reported. Other reports said JI warned of renewed protests if the levy was not abolished.

The talks follow an earlier round at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the government negotiating committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, met a JI delegation led by Liaqat Baloch. The government team also included Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Rana Sanaullah, while Baloch was accompanied by Deputy Secretary Syed Firasat Shah, Islamabad Ameer Nasrullah Randhawa and Information Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Tarabi.

Baloch said at a press conference after that meeting that both sides had termed the abolition of the petroleum levy inevitable and had agreed to provide relief to the agricultural sector and 1,000cc vehicles. He said JI had presented six proposals to the government for providing relief to the public, including abolishing the petroleum levy, a relief package, relief for public transport, vehicles above 800cc and the agricultural sector.

He said both negotiating teams would prepare a working paper for the gradual abolition of the levy and public relief, with the government completing its work and the two sides discussing further progress. Baloch said he had contacted Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who is in Turkey, by telephone, briefed him on progress in the negotiations and sought his guidance.

Any change to the petroleum levy would affect the price households and transporters pay for fuel. Petrol was Rs346 per litre and high-speed diesel was Rs378 per litre on 7 November, according to khabr.pk's records. On the same day, the prime minister ordered licences cancelled for pumps denying subsidised fuel to registered beneficiaries under the Fuel Relief Programme, which has more than 15.5 million registrants.

Baloch said JI's basic objective was to secure relief for the public and that even if the government did not give the party credit, providing relief to the people would itself be a major achievement for Jamaat-e-Islami.