JI to launch protest against ‘IPPs mafia’, Punjab LG law

LAHORE:

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday blasted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, questioning the legitimacy of his political return and warning that an impending movement for systemic change would hold both rulers and their facilitators to account.

Vowing to “change the system”, he announced that the party would hold sit-ins outside divisional offices on December 21 to protest the local government act and would also launch a campaign against “the IPPs mafia”. 

Addressing a reception held in honour of committee workers of the Minar-e-Pakistan public gathering, Hafiz Naeem said Nawaz Sharif had been “imposed on the nation with seventy thousand illicit votes”, asking who would hold those responsible for installing him to account. 

He claimed that the ruling PML-N had failed to secure even 17 seats in the last general elections, adding that the movement for change would not only indict the rulers but “fix” them as well.

The JI chief lamented Pakistan had undergone repeated political experiments, whether under martial law or democratic governments, yet no real change had materialised. 
He alleged that the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments had further damaged an already “rotten” judicial system, arguing that Jamaat-e-Islami was the only political force capable of transforming the system and offering the country a viable alternative. 

He stressed that “Badlo Nizam” was not merely a slogan but a suppressed public demand, warning that people were being subjected to repeated ambushes on their rights, against which the movement would be launched.

Hafiz Naeem announced that on December 21, JI would stage sit-ins outside divisional offices against the local government act and would also initiate a movement against what he described as the IPPs mafia. He said disengagement or leaving the country was not a solution, calling it tragic that people were losing hope and opting to leave Pakistan instead of confronting the system.