Lahore: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has urged the government to ensure protection of national interests while pursuing diplomatic efforts for peace in the Gulf region, even as he acknowledged such initiatives.
Addressing a ‘Bano Qabil’ graduation ceremony in Gujranwala on Friday, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said the country was grappling with severe challenges, including prolonged power outages, millions of out-of-school children, and rising drug addiction among youth. ‘The time has come not to change faces or flags, but to change the system,’ he asserted.
The JI chief highlighted the ongoing electricity crisis, noting that Pakistan’s installed generation capacity stood at around 49,000 megawatts, while peak demand, even during extreme heat, did not exceed 25,000 megawatts. Despite this, he said, the public was facing worst-ever load shedding. He said agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) were flawed contracts, costing the nation nearly Rs2 trillion annually.
Criticising gover
nance in Punjab, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said the provincial government was outsourcing public schools instead of improving the education system. He said that teachers in outsourced institutions were being hired on meagre salaries ranging between Rs5,000 and Rs8,000 per month, raising serious concerns about education standards. He added that the number of outsourced schools had already reached 11,000 and was being increased to 25,000, deepening inequality between rich and poor. He also questioned the sale of public assets, including educational institutions and basic health centres, and criticised the practice of naming public projects after political personalities.
On inflation and taxation, he said that citizens were paying around Rs150 per litre in taxes on petrol, adding that successive governments had failed to provide basic facilities, particularly quality education. Highlighting youth issues, he said that around 8 million young people in Pakistan were affected by drug addiction, stressing the need for aw
areness and constructive engagement.
Praising the Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan for its ‘Bano Qabil’ programme, he said the initiative was equipping youth with IT skills and preparing them for practical life. He announced that more free courses, including basic artificial intelligence training, would be introduced, and training centres would be expanded nationwide to positively engage Gen-Z.
Meanwhile, in a post on social media platform X, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman criticised the PPP government in Sindh, saying it is threatening shopkeepers for printing banners of the ‘Haq Do Karachi’ campaign. He termed such actions fascism and questioned whether citizens would next be arrested for raising the slogan.
He further criticised the Sindh government’s performance, saying it has failed to provide basic services such as water, roads, and transport to Karachi’s population over the past 18 years. He maintained that Karachi was the backbone of the national economy and said denying its rights amounted to undermining Pakis
tan itself. ‘The voice for ‘Haq Do Karachi’ represents millions of residents and will continue until the city is granted its due rights,’ he said.