JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman addresses the inaugural session of the party’s three-day congregation beginning at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. Photo:
LAHORE:
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday announced a nationwide campaign of protest rallies and sit-ins as part of the party’s “Badal do Nizam” (change the system) movement.
He unveiled the next phase during the concluding session of JI’s three-day Ijtima-e-Aam at Minar-e-Pakistan, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
Addressing the packed gathering, Hafiz Naeem said the movement sought to “remove a handful of people from positions of power” and reform a “false judicial system.” He accused certain elements of trying to amend the Constitution to protect corruption, declaring that they would be held accountable to 250 million Pakistanis.
The JI chief said the party would launch a campaign for “supremacy and protection of the Constitution”.
He announced that JI would organize protest rallies and sit-ins in 25 major cities over the next three months, adding that after mobilizing the public, the party would “liberate Pakistan from the clutches of a few individuals.”
The JI emir also ruled out electoral alliances with any political party. He called for the lifting of the ban on the TLP, which he noted had polled hundreds of thousands of votes, and demanded the release of PTI founding president and former prime minister Imran Khan.
He announced that Jamaat-e-Islami aims to recruit five million new members and establish 50,000 community committees across the country.
Hafiz Naeem identified a lack of discipline within political parties as one of the country’s most pressing problems and said key decisions are often driven by wealth, influence and dynastic interests.
He made it clear that Jamaat-e-Islami will not field any candidate until the election schedule is announced, reiterating that all decisions within the party will be taken strictly in accordance with its organizational principles.
He said every worker and youth member of Jamaat-e-Islami was a representative of the movement and the selection of candidates would be completely system-driven.
He further urged party workers to integrate the teachings of the Quran into their daily lives, maintain honesty in financial transactions, avoid conflicts over trivial matters and strengthen the party’s presence at the grassroots level.
He said the root cause of Pakistan’s political and economic crises lies in the concentration of power in a few hands and the disproportionate influence of the bureaucracy.
He highlighted that JI envisions a governance model in which real authority rests with elected representatives.
On foreign policy, the JI emir called on Pakistan to adopt an independent stance, stating that dependence on the United States has harmed national interests. He said regional peace was undermined by “external interference.”
He added that Kashmir and Palestine remained non-negotiable red lines for JI, rejecting the two-state solution for Palestine and announcing support only for a fully independent Palestinian state.
