Both the govt & opposition in Pakistan look to the US for direction: Hafiz Naeemur Rehman
MARDAN, Jan 12 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said that both the government and the opposition in Pakistan look to the US for direction.
“United States is enemy of humanity and democracy,” he said while addressing a reception in Mardan on Sunday.
Washington, he added, is fully backing Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza while rulers of Muslim world are silent spectators.
The US, said the JI Emir, supported dictators, monarchs, and rulers in Islamic countries, who, in return, safeguard American interests.
Rehman affirmed Jamaat-e-Islami’s commitment to establishing genuine democratic rule in Pakistan and announced plans to revitalize the party’s protest movement for public rights. He said that nationwide demonstrations demanding reductions in electricity tariffs are scheduled for January 17.
Rehman said successive governments plundered the country under the guise of Independent Power Producers (IPPs). He questioned why, despite claims of significant financial benefits from terminating IPP contracts, electricity tariffs have not been reduced for the public.
He said that political parties, including the PML-N, PPP, and PTI, favored IPPs by granting them tax exemptions and rewarding them for non-production of electricity. He stated that citizens, who pay taxes, are being looted while IPPs have collected over PKR 2,000 billion in taxes from the public. He dismissed government claims of economic improvement as false, citing skyrocketing prices of essential goods as evidence.
Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman criticized a select elite class for repeatedly capturing power under different party banners, ensuring that the country’s system and conditions remain unchanged. He claimed that billionaires occupy the nation’s assemblies, imposing taxes on the poor while amassing wealth for themselves. He said feudal lords and landlords are dominating Pakistan without being subjected to taxes.
He further criticized mainstream political parties for lacking vision and failing to provide basic necessities like education and healthcare. Highlighting corruption in the name of health cards, he said that successive governments have surpassed each other in looting the country.
He emphasized that Jamaat-e-Islami is a genuinely democratic party, electing its leadership through consultation from grassroots to central levels. He urged people to rise above ethnic and regional biases and join Jamaat-e-Islami for real change.
Addressing the issue of military operations, Rehman stated that they have brought nothing but devastation over the past decade and a half. He said that over 100,000 citizens have been killed, and countless others injured or disabled due to continuous operations.
He urged the government to evaluate past military operations and address the root causes of unrest before initiating new ones. “Military operations push the country towards anarchy,” he warned, calling for sustainable solutions to Pakistan’s challenges.