Pakistan Government, Jamaat-e-Islami Begin Talks as Nationwide Strike Disrupts Markets
LAHORE, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: A Pakistani government delegation reached Jamaat-e-Islami’s headquarters in Mansoorah, Lahore, on Thursday for negotiations as the religious-political party observed a nationwide shutter-down strike over the petroleum levy, electricity costs and wider economic pressures.
According to the latest Express report, Senator Rana Sanaullah and Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique had arrived at Mansoorah, while the delegation was awaiting Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal before formal discussions began. Jamaat-e-Islami Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch received the government representatives.
The negotiations mark a significant development in a protest campaign that has been running for weeks and has focused heavily on the cost of fuel, taxation and electricity.
Liaquat Baloch Leads JI Negotiating Team
Jamaat-e-Islami’s negotiating team is being led by Liaquat Baloch. Other members identified by Express include Firasat Shah, Nasrullah Randhawa, Ziauddin Ansari and Naveed Ali Baig.
Earlier reports had listed different possible compositions for the government delegation, including Rana Sanaullah, Ahsan Iqbal and other political figures. Because the delegation’s composition appears to have evolved, the latest on-site Express report is the safer basis for identifying who had actually arrived at Mansoorah at that stage.
Sources cited by Express said JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman could also meet the government delegation if it presented a relief package for the public. That possibility remained conditional and should not be reported as a confirmed meeting or agreement.
Strike Targets Petroleum Levy and High Living Costs
The talks came as JI pressed ahead with its September 3 nationwide shutter-down strike.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the action last week as part of the party’s campaign against the petroleum levy, saying the protest movement could escalate to a long march on Islamabad if the government failed to provide relief.
The party has also raised concerns about electricity prices, taxation and inflation. Earlier this week, a JI spokesperson confirmed that the government had offered negotiations but said the party wanted a clear relief package rather than only a briefing on economic constraints.
The negotiations at Mansoorah therefore do not themselves mean the strike has ended or that either side has accepted the other’s proposals.
Markets Affected, but Shutdown Was Not Uniform
The strike disrupted commercial activity in several parts of Pakistan on Thursday, although available reporting indicates that its impact varied considerably by city and locality.
ARY News reported that shops and markets were largely closed in Karachi and some other cities, while parts of Islamabad saw a partial shutdown. It also reported closures in several Lahore commercial areas.
Other current reporting characterised the nationwide response as mixed, with some business centres remaining closed while commercial activity continued elsewhere.
For that reason, describing Pakistan as experiencing a complete nationwide shutdown would overstate the available evidence. The more accurate formulation is that a nationwide strike was called and caused varying levels of disruption across the country.
Karachi Sees Arson by Unidentified Individuals
Karachi experienced some of the day’s most serious disruptions.
Near Korangi Crossing, unidentified individuals erected roadblocks, burned tyres and set two motorcycles on fire, according to current reports. Commercial activity was also affected around Mosamyaat, Safoora Chowrangi and other areas.
The identity of those responsible for the arson was not established in the reports reviewed.
That distinction is important because the violence should not be attributed to Jamaat-e-Islami or its workers without evidence. JI had called the strike, but the available reports specifically describe those responsible for the Karachi arson as unidentified individuals.
JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar said markets had responded to the strike and called on the government to reduce its own expenditure and provide economic relief to citizens.
Government Had Offered Talks Before Strike
The Mansoorah meeting was not a last-minute initiative arising only after Thursday’s disruption.
On September 1, Jamaat-e-Islami confirmed that the government had already approached the party for negotiations. Rana Sanaullah and Ahsan Iqbal had contacted Liaquat Baloch, while JI said it was prepared to negotiate if the government came forward with a substantive relief plan.
The party’s protest campaign had also been building for weeks. On August 7, JI organised demonstrations at hundreds of locations, while subsequent sit-ins focused on petroleum levies, electricity tariffs and other economic grievances.
By August 28, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had formally called the September 3 nationwide strike and warned that the campaign could eventually move towards Islamabad.
No Agreement Announced Yet
The most important qualification in Thursday’s developing story is that the arrival of the government delegation represents the start of a negotiating process, not a settlement.
At the stage covered by the latest Express report, no final agreement had been announced on reducing the petroleum levy, cutting electricity prices or ending JI’s protest campaign.
Similarly, reports that the government could present a relief package remain source-based expectations unless and until specific measures are formally announced.
Any future package would also need to be assessed on its exact terms — including whether it changes petroleum levies, fuel prices, electricity tariffs or provides some other form of relief.
For now, the Mansoorah talks represent the clearest attempt yet by the government and Jamaat-e-Islami to negotiate an end to a protest campaign that has increasingly disrupted political and commercial activity across Pakistan.
