LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Wednesday said that the “suppressive system” governing Pakistan for the past 78 years had shattered people’s dreams instead of providing relief, leaving citizens deprived of basic rights and disillusioned with state institutions.
Addressing a press conference at the Minar-i-Pakistan Ijtima, flanked by JI Secretary General Ameerul Azeem and Naib Emir Liaquat Baloch, the JI chief said courts had failed to dispense justice while state institutions had fallen short of delivering on their fundamental responsibilities. “There is no one to inquire after the people,” he remarked, adding that the recently passed 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had further aggravated the situation.
Rehman said the JI could not abandon the masses “at the mercy of landlords and mafias”, adding that caravans from across the country had begun reaching Lahore for the ongoing congregation. He was accompanied by JI Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari Advocate and Secretary Information Shakil Ahmed Turabi.
JI Emir Hafiz Naeem says courts have failed to provide justice and institutions have also failed to deliver. https://t.co/VtoZ1u7gGw
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He said arrangements for the lodging and boarding of thousands of attendees had been finalised and that leaders of various Islamic movements from abroad were expected to join the gathering.
Painting a grim picture of public sentiment, the JI emir said people were “severely disappointed and worried” and saw no ray of hope amid mounting inflation, unemployment and rising inequality. He noted that although youth constitute 65 per cent of Pakistan’s population, they continue to face barriers to both education and employment.
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“The doors of higher education have been closed for the poor,” he said, criticising what he termed a “class-based system” where children of affluent families enjoy quality education while those of the poor remain out of school. He mocked the government for distributing “a few laptops” and believing it had fulfilled its responsibility toward the youth.
Rehman reiterated that the JI would build an alliance “with the masses” rather than political elites. “Farmers, labourers, teachers, students and lawyers are our allies,” he said, vowing to jointly advance a movement for the “supremacy of Islam in the country”.
He added that he would unveil the party’s future course of action on the final day of the congregation and promised a “big package” of education and employment initiatives aimed particularly at Generation Z and the country’s youth.
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