Politics now serves only the powerful: JI chief

Party to stage protest rallies, sit-ins in 25 major cities over next three months

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said on Monday that the political and economic conditions worldwide are unfavourable for ordinary people, and that politics now serves only the powerful.

Addressing an international conference "Quest for a just global order" in Lahore, Hafiz stated that the current global system has failed. Muslim countries are confronting numerous challenges. “On a global level, industrial development has not benefited the common man,” he said.

Hafiz Naeemur-Rehman pointed to Gaza as a stark example of the world order. “The corporate sector aligns only with the powerful. The United Nations and the Security Council have become ineffective and act under the influence of global powers,” he said.

He announced on Sunday that JI would stage protest rallies and sit-ins in 25 major cities over the next three months, adding that after mobilising the public, the party would "free Pakistan from the grip of a few individuals". The protest is part of a nationwide campaign of protest rallies and sit-ins as part of the party's "Badal do Nizam" (change the system) movement

Read: JI unveils three-month protest campaign

“In Gaza and Palestine, neither the UN nor the Security Council has played any meaningful role. I pay tribute to those who have raised their voices against Israeli aggression,” he emphasised.

The JI emir has called for Pakistan to adopt an independent stance, asserting that reliance on the United States has harmed national interests. He said regional peace was undermined by "external interference". Hafiz stressed that Islam teaches unity. “The world is changing, and the Muslim Ummah must also adapt and develop its own strategies in response,” he said.

Highlighting the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), he said: “Indian forces continue to commit atrocities against unarmed Kashmiris, which the world witnesses. We demand that the Kashmir issue be resolved in accordance with United Nations resolutions”.

He referred to the governance model of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), saying: “The way the Prophet established the state of Madinah, providing equal rights to all, must be followed. Islam guarantees equal rights to everyone under all circumstances”.

Read more: JI chief pledges fair politics amid constitutional unrest

He concluded by stressing the urgency of protecting the new generation, which, according to him, "is being destroyed".

Former Senator Mushahid Hussain also addressed the conference, stating that “Jamaat-e-Islami is the only party that raises its voice against oppression globally and in Pakistan".

He went on to state that Palestine and Pakistan share a deep bond, "as Pakistan and Palestine resolutions were adopted in 1940".