Lahore, 22 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has contacted Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch as the government and the opposition party prepare to hold fresh negotiations in Islamabad on Friday over the petroleum levy. JI Vice Emir Liaquat Baloch said the meeting would focus on the petroleum levy issue, while a separate meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman is also scheduled in Islamabad. The government’s renewed contact comes after Jamaat-e-Islami announced plans to launch the third phase of its nationwide protest movement against the petroleum levy on Friday, October 23, with sit-ins planned in all districts across the country. The federal government and JI had agreed to form negotiating committees in early September, when the party was preparing to hold a nationwide strike, to recommend measures for reducing the petroleum levy. On September 22, JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the postponement of the party’s long march, whose convoy had reached Multan, following a request from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and pending a meeting with him. The JI chief had said the prime minister invited the party leadership for talks after returning to Pakistan. He maintained that although JI would meet the prime minister, it would not abandon its protest movement, which seeks public relief through lower fuel prices and the abolition of the petroleum levy. Jamaat-e-Islami has previously staged sit-ins at 510 locations across the country and observed a nationwide shutdown strike as part of its campaign against rising fuel prices and inflation. The party has maintained that it will seek written assurances from the government before deciding on its future course of action.