JI chief questions Bilawal on minimum wages, announces protest plan against petroleum levy

JI chief questions Bilawal on minimum wages, announces protest plan against petroleum levy
Asks govt to ensure release of Pirya Kumari, action against docaits in riverine area
Criticizes PPP, demands relief for workers, pensioners
Asks govt to deal sensibly in Azad Kashmir, urges action committee to purge itself of miscreants

KARACHI, June 22: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan chief Engr Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Monday questioned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over the minimum wages as he said that no genius can manage a budget of Rs43000 for a six member family, yet the minimum wage rule is not followed in the province.
While the Sindh government has fixed the minimum wage at Rs43,000, the public should be informed about the earnings of laborers working on the Bhutto family’s estates, he said while addressing a press conference, held at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI Karachi headquarters.
He said that that farm workers were given only a small share of grain and kept in conditions resembling servitude. He also said the PPP was maintaining a feudal culture within the party, adding that hereditary privilege outweighed the contributions of long-serving party workers.
The JI chief criticized the federal budget, saying it failed to provide meaningful relief to private-sector employees, laborers and ordinary citizens. He noted that while government employees had received a limited salary increase, parliamentarians’ salaries and benefits had already been raised by 300 to 400 percent. He further expressed concern over the lack of an increase in pensions for Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) beneficiaries and called on media organizations to ensure fair wages and rights for their workers.
Hafiz Naeem said the petroleum levy had become a heavy burden on motorcycle riders and ordinary citizens, many of whom do not earn enough to pay income tax. He demanded that petrol prices be fixed at Rs225 per litre, the petroleum levy be abolished immediately, and heavy taxes in electricity bills and agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) be reviewed and terminated.
Stressing that JI believes in peaceful political struggle and democratic resistance, he announced that the party would soon call on youth across the country to stage protests against the levy by switching off their motorcycles and other vehicles on major highways and roads.
Commenting on national issues, he said the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved through dialogue rather than force, and urged authorities to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities. He asked the action committee in Azad Kashmir to purge their ranks and files from miscreants and continue their rights movement under the ambit of the Constitution of Pakistan.
He also called on the government to secure the recovery of Priya Kumari and Pakistani citizens reportedly held hostage by pirates in Somalia.
The JI leader criticized alleged interference in political processes, referring to controversies surrounding election management and results.
He accused the PPP of undermining democracy and reiterated the party’s claim that Jamaat-e-Islami’s mandate in the Karachi local government elections had been usurped.
On Karachi’s civic issues, Hafiz Naeem criticized the Sindh government’s performance in education, healthcare and public transport, arguing that the city requires around 15,000 buses and that the addition of only 150 buses was grossly insufficient. He also questioned the condition of major roads and infrastructure projects in the city.
Addressing international affairs, he said Muslim countries, including Pakistan, should play a stronger role in stopping Israeli military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, adding that Israel’s image as an invincible power had been shattered.
Several Jamaat-e-Islami leaders, including Sindh Ameer Kashif Saeed Sheikh, Karachi Ameer Monem Zafar Khan, opposition leader in KMC Saifuddin Advocate, Karachi Secretary Taufiquddin Siddiqui, Information Secretary Zahid Askari and Public Aid Committee Secretary Najeeb Ayubi, were also present at the press conference.