Pakistan, Oct. 22 -- Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and the federal government will hold talks on Friday over petroleum levy reductions and further high-level contacts. The discussions will also set a schedule for a proposed meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and JI Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman.

The negotiating committees will meet at Punjab House in Islamabad, according to a JI statement issued Thursday. The meeting followed a telephone conversation between JI Vice Emir Liaqat Baloch and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. Iqbal heads the government's negotiating committee, while Baloch represents the party.

JI has demanded the abolition of petroleum levies for more than two months. The party cites charges of Rs114 per litre on petrol and Rs1...