Jamaat-e-Islami has decided to “defer” its nearly 14-day protest sit-in following successful negotiations with the government, which addressed demands like reducing high power tariffs and revising agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).

The announcement came late Thursday after the fifth round of talks with the government’s negotiation team in Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi.

Read more: JI Protest Persists as Government forms Committee to Address Concerns

JI Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman stated they are deferring rather than ending the sit-in, with a formal announcement planned for today’s rally.

Rehman warned that the party would resume the sit-in if the government does not meet their demands. The JI plans to hold a rally on Islamabad Highway today to outline their future actions.

The IPP agreements are under scrutiny due to high bills linked to capacity payments. The sit-in was staged in response to inflation and the IPP agreements, with an earlier protest also held in Karachi since Saturday.

What are JI’s demands?

• Abolishing the Petroleum Development Levy and reversing recent price hikes on petroleum products.
• Reducing prices of food commodities, electricity, and gas by 20%.
• Renegotiating agreements with independent power producers (IPPs).
• Ending the IPP agreement clause requiring payments in US dollars.
• Granting a 50% discount to power consumers using up to 500 units.
• Halving taxes on agriculture and industry and reducing their financial burden by 50%.
• Providing incentives to the industrial sector, trade, and investment to create youth employment.
• Reversing tax increases on the salaried class and imposing taxes on the wealthy.
• Cutting non-development expenses by 35%.
• Removing all taxes on stationery and educational items.

Addressing the sit-in participants, JI Deputy Emir Liaquat Baloch announced that the government has agreed to impose taxes on landowners and to gradually reduce taxes on the salaried class.

Baloch noted that Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi signed the agreement on the party’s demands. The meeting also confirmed that the government will review agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) and establish a task force to report to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif within a month.

The agreement included monitoring IPP and energy sector issues, and both federal and provincial governments will work together to impose income tax on landlords. Power prices are expected to decrease over the next six weeks, and efforts will be made to lower power bills.

A committee will be formed to address traders’ concerns, with ongoing meetings between the government and Jamaat-e-Islami. Interior Minister Naqvi assured that the power tariff would soon be reduced, while Tarar mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed relief measures for consumers, including a Rs50 billion subsidy for those using up to 200 units.

Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasized last week that the government’s goal is to lower electricity bills and avoid politicizing the issue amid ongoing protests against high power costs.