Govt needed to reduce electricity tariffs or face mass protests: Hafiz Naeemur Rehman

FAISALABAD, Dec 20 (SABAH): Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has demanded that the government reduce electricity tariffs or face mass protests. 

Addressing journalists after a workers’ convention in Faisalabad on Friday, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman urged the public to prepare for a nationwide protest movement led by the JI.

Commenting on Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s visit to the JI headquarters at Mansoorah, Lahore, on Thursday, Rehman revealed that the minister briefed the JI leadership about ongoing government negotiations with Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Naqvi assured that relief on electricity prices would soon be provided to the public, he said. 

“We made it clear to him [Naqvi] that if the government fails to honor its commitments made during the Rawalpindi agreement, the JI will have no option but to launch a movement against it,” Rehman stated. He criticized the government’s claims of economic improvement, labeling them as detached from reality. “Salaried individuals are being crushed under heavy taxes, gas and electricity prices are skyrocketing, the petroleum levy is unreasonably high, and industries are shutting down,” he said. “The common man is struggling to make ends meet.”

Rehman also slammed the ruling elite for their unwillingness to give up their luxurious lifestyles funded by state resources, while refusing to impose taxes on feudal landlords. “The day the government raised the gas tariff by 25%, members of the Punjab Assembly shamelessly increased their salaries by 1,000%,” he said, adding the political elite is prioritizing their own interests while neglecting the basic needs of the masses.

When asked about the registration of madaris (religious seminaries), Rehman noted a difference of opinion between the JI and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on the matter. He said the JI supported the registration of madaris with the federal Ministry of Education, as agreed between religious seminaries leaders and the government in 2019.

“If there are issues with this agreement, Maulana Fazlur Rehman should have taken all stakeholders into confidence,” he suggested. He added that registering seminaries either under the Societies Act or with the Ministry of Education should be acceptable to all parties. Rehman further said the current rulers, including the prime minister, came to power through electoral fraud and the manipulation of Form 47.

“If a judicial commission investigates the rigging of February’s general election, this government will collapse,” he asserted. Rehman said that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif also lost the election but manipulated results in his constituency to secure a seat. He further said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari cannot become the prime minister of Pakistan because his party undermines democratic values.

“The PPP accepted Karachi’s mayorship despite losing it to the JI, which reflects their disregard for democracy,” he added. Rehman emphasized the importance of protecting the country’s ideological foundation. “Propaganda against the country, no matter who it comes from, is unacceptable,” he said. “This country was established on the basis of an ideology, and its protection is the responsibility of every citizen.”