The second round of negotiations between the government and the Jamaat-e-Islami on the resolution of demands set by the party would be held on Wednesday (tomorrow), JI Deputy Ameer Liaqat Baloch said on Tuesday.

“There has been significant progress in the stalled negotiations between the government and the Jamaat-e-Islami,” he said while appearing on Spotlight with Munizae Jahangir aired on Aaj News. He joined the show via a telephone call.

The last round of negotiations between the two sides took place on July 28, during which the religiopolitical party presented its 10 demands to the government. The government’s team informed the party’s delegation that it was difficult to terminate the independent power producers (IPPs) agreements because they were international pacts that must be honoured.

At the end of the negotiations, the government team had told the JI delegation that it would convey its message to the prime minister and that the next round of negotiations scheduled for July 29 could not take place for any specific reason. The party had told the government that it would continue its sit-in despite the latter’s assurance of forming a technical committee on the demands.

Baloch, the JI’s negotiation team head, stated that the technical committee would consult Hafiz Naeem and other committee members.

“We want public issues to be resolved as soon as possible,” he said and admitted that the government was under pressure from the IMF and IPP agreements. But he also mentioned the “plight of more than 250 million people” amid the high electricity bills.

The JI deputy leader reiterated that the sit-in and negotiations would continue simultaneously.

“Any protest ultimately leads to negotiations, however, if the government is not budging an inch and does not feel the sentiments of the people, then protests will start not only in Karachi but also in Peshawar, Lahore, and Quetta. The next phase of the sit-in on the Murree Road will also be announced and protests and sit-ins would spread throughout the country, Baloch said.

While speaking about the IPP agreement, he said: “The government owns 52% of the shares in IPPs, 23% is owned by China through CPEC, and 25% is owned by local Pakistani investors.” He was of the view that the neighbouring country would consider providing relief to the people if the country held talks with them.

On the other hand, he said that the government was insisting on meeting with the two-member technical committee to negotiate the ‘Charter of Demands.’

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‘Our technical committee will speak after preparation’

While addressing sit-in participants, Baloch said that the women at home were praying for the success of the protest as it has “become the voice” of the masses.

“Five days have now been completed since the start of the sit-in. In the beginning, the government had reached out for talks, saying it wanted to discuss the issues. We told the government to come on the stage and meet with the JI ameer. The ameer then formed a committee for the negotiations,” he said.

“The first round of negotiations took place in Rawalpindi, where the protesters clearly conveyed their demands. Now, the second round of talks between Jamaat-e-Islami and the government will be held tomorrow [Wednesday],” Baloch said.

He reiterated the demand for reviewing the agreements made with the IPPs.