Amir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. Photo: Express
TIMERGARA:
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday said governance in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, like at the federal level, had been reduced to slogans, lamenting that citizens remain deprived of basic services despite more than a decade of uninterrupted single-party rule.
Addressing a public meeting titled “Badal Do Nizam” (Change the System) at the Dir Stadium in Upper Dir, he said that even after 14 years of the same party in power, the people of the province still lack access to healthcare, education and fundamental rights.
He criticized the outsourcing of public schools, calling it “a clear admission of failure” rather than improving the government education system.
He said the country had been thrust under a heavy debt burden, stating that the national debt had risen from Rp55 trillion to Rp85 trillion in just four years, while “the rulers are taking almost Rp20 billion in new loans every day” as the public grapples with inflation and economic hardship.
The JI chief said the public had been misled for 79 years through slogans and symbolism while the bureaucracy continued to operate with a colonial-era system that treats citizens as subjects.
He said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governments were extensions of each other, adding that outsourcing of public education institutions amounted to an acknowledgment of governance failure.
He promised that if it comes to power, Jamaat-e-Islami would abolish the dual education system that separates the rich and the poor, and ensure that women receive their fair share of inheritance.
Inviting PTI workers to join his party’s movement, he said Jamaat-e-Islami would build a national base of five million members and establish 50,000 public committees to uproot “an unjust system”.
The meeting was also addressed by former provincial minister and JI KP North chief Inayatullah Khan, party vice-emir Maulana Dr Ataur Rehman, former MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah and JI senior emir Sahibzada Faseehullah.
