PPP ruins Karachi; those impose mayor should fix situation, says Naeemur Rehman

PPP ruins Karachi; those impose mayor should fix situation, says Naeemur Rehman

Says Gulf states must realize US bases not for their protection

Praises Islamabad role in mediating between Iran, Saudi Arabia

Suggests Iran, Turkey be included in Pakistan-Saudi defense agreement

Says govt collecting Rs105 as levy, which is unrelated to the base fuel price

PM spent just 3 hours in Karachi with 37-vehicle protocol, President Zardari traveled to Nawabshah for Eid prayers with 26-vehicle convoy, highlights JI leader


KARACHI: MARCH 28: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said that the Pakistan People Party has ruined the Karachi and those who installed the mayor should fix the situation.

The JI supreme leader was addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI Karachi headquarters, here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been ruling Sindh for the last 18 years and has “devastated Karachi.” He said that PPP has done nothing except “loot and corruption,” adding that those who imposed a PPP mayor on Karachi should now be the ones to fix the city.

He reiterated Jamaat-e-Islami’s clear demand for the establishment of an empowered city government in Karachi, and called for a strong local government system across the entire country.


Speaking on international affairs, Hafiz Naeem said Muslim rulers must openly declare that any attack on Iran by the United States and Israel would amount to terrorism. He criticized Pakistan’s participation in what he called Trump’s Gaza Board of Peace, questioning how Pakistan could act as a mediator while being part of that body.

He said mediation requires neutrality, and once former US President Donald Trump is accepted as head of such a board and even nominated for a Nobel Prize, neutrality becomes impossible. He further said that this so-called peace board has no legal status, as it has been created in competition with the United Nations.


He said representatives of the board have spoken of disarming Hamas before any peace process can move forward, which, he said, means speaking against the same party with whom peace is supposedly being negotiated. He stated that there is now no moral, legal, or humanitarian justification for Pakistan to remain part of this peace board.

He urged Pakistan not only to withdraw itself but also to persuade Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and all Gulf states to leave the board as well. He praised Spain for openly condemning the United States.

Hafiz Naeem said Pakistan’s role in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia had been commendable and suggested that Iran and Turkey should now be included in the Pakistan-Saudi defense agreement. He said that once this happens, other Gulf states would likely join as well, creating a bloc that would symbolize the unity of the Muslim Ummah and weaken Israel.

He stated that peace in the region cannot be achieved as long as Israel exists in its current form, calling it an “illegitimate state.” He also said Gulf states must realize that American military bases are not there for their protection but for the protection and strengthening of Israel, and urged them to review their multi-billion-dollar agreements.

On domestic governance, he demanded that no government vehicle, including those used by army officers, should exceed 1300cc under the current economic conditions. He said Jamaat-e-Islami’s local government representatives do not use vehicles above this limit.

Criticizing the government’s fuel policy, he said the Prime Minister claimed to have rejected a summary proposing an increase of Rs200 and Rs95 in petrol and diesel prices, but mocked the statement by saying the summary came from the government itself.

He said the government is collecting Rs120 to Rs125 per litre in taxes on petrol, including Rs105 as levy, which is unrelated to the base fuel price.

He also demanded that all schools, colleges, and universities be reopened and said there is no longer any justification for keeping Pakistan-Iran trade suspended, calling for its immediate restoration.

Hafiz Naeem further said payments to IPPs (Independent Power Producers) should be stopped, accusing the government of favoring the “IPP mafia” while continuing its own luxuries and protocol.

He criticized the Prime Minister for arriving in Karachi for just three hours with a 37-vehicle protocol, while President Zardari allegedly traveled to Nawabshah for Eid prayers with a 26-vehicle convoy.

He called upon the country’s major political parties — PML-N, PPP, and PTI — to clearly state their positions regarding the US-Israel-Iran conflict and openly condemn the United States and Israel.

On Karachi’s civic issues, he said the Red Line project has become a constant source of suffering for the city’s residents and claimed that Karachi did not even need the project. He argued that instead, the Sindh government could have brought 1,500 to 2,000 large buses.

He said that Rs4 billion had been spent on the Karimabad underpass project only to create “two narrow lanes.” He also said the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, despite a budget of Rs43 billion, has completely failed, turning the city into a garbage dump.

He said the Sindh government has extended corruption from Zardari House to Bilawal House, saying the entire waste management system has become a corrupt enterprise.

He questioned why the K-IV augmentation project had been halted for months and asked why the federal government had still not completed the K-IV water project. He also criticized delays in the KCR (Karachi Circular Railway) and the Green Line project, saying repeated inaugurations have taken place but completion remains elusive even after eleven years.

Referring to regional conflict, Hafiz Naeem said that Israel and the United States first carried out terrorism in Gaza, where he said 80,000 Palestinians were martyred, and are now jointly carrying out “carpet bombing” in Iran, targeting civilian populations as well.

He said Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were leading a “satanic group” and stated that their terrorism in Iran began with an attack on a school in which 170 children were targeted.

He said Trump presents himself as a comedian through contradictory statements to divert attention from what he called brutality.

On the Strait of Hormuz, he said Iran had already warned that if attacked, it would close the strait and strike wherever US bases exist, calling this Iran’s constitutional and moral right. However, he stressed that civilian populations in Gulf countries must not be targeted.

He also praised Pakistani religious scholars from Deobandi, Barelvi, Ahl-e-Hadith, Shia, and Sunni schools of thought for rising above sectarian differences and supporting unity and Iran at this time.

He warned that those attempting to inflame Shia-Sunni divisions are serving the interests of the United States and Israel.

Discussing taxation, he said Pakistan has approximately 25 million motorcycles, and if even 10 million of them consume one litre of petrol daily, the government collects around Rs1.2 billion per day in petrol levy alone.

He claimed that annually the poor class pays around Rs432 billion in such taxes, excluding other levies. He further said that of the country’s 5 million cars, around 4 million are under 1200cc, and even these contribute nearly Rs600 billion in taxes annually.

According to him, the government itself admitted to collecting Rs2,600 billion in petroleum levy over the past two years, of which at least Rs1,800 billion came from the poor and middle classes, while feudal landlords paid no more than Rs4 to 5 billion in taxes.

Shakil Ahmed Turabi
Secretary Information Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.
Contact: 0321-9559222