Pakistan’s Pharmaceutical exports reach 20-year …

Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has criticised the country’s elite class, saying ordinary Pakistanis are struggling under rising costs while privileged groups continue to enjoy extensive benefits without paying their fair share of taxes. Speaking at a press conference at Jamaat-e-Islami headquarters in Mansoorah, Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said increases in petroleum prices have a direct impact on the prices of essential goods and place the greatest burden on middle- and lower-income families. He said access to quality healthcare and education remained inadequate for a large section of the population, adding that ordinary citizens were being deprived of basic facilities. Hafiz Naeem also said Jamaat-e-Islami had not ended its protest sit-in but had only postponed it. He criticised what he described as a political system dominated by a self-serving political class. He said many Pakistanis were taking significant risks to travel abroad in search of employment, while educated young people were also leaving the country because of limited job opportunities. The Jamaat-e-Islami leader further alleged that owners of independent power producers were not being adequately taxed despite earning substantial incomes. At the same time, he said, people across the country were facing prolonged power outages while additional charges were being collected from consumers. Hafiz Naeem accused the ruling class of failing to deliver meaningful relief because of what he described as corruption and poor governance. He questioned the reported purchase of an aircraft worth around Rs11 billion for the Punjab chief minister. He also criticised government officials for defending the expenditure, saying public funds should not be used for expensive official vehicles and other privileges. The Jamaat-e-Islami emir urged authorities to reduce unnecessary government spending and focus resources on providing relief to ordinary citizens.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has announced a nationwide strike on September 3, saying he will visit different cities to persuade traders to join the party’s ongoing protest movement. Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Hafiz Naeem said the party would hold a major public gathering in Faisalabad on Friday, followed by another gathering in Lahore and then Peshawar. He said he would also meet industrialists and traders in Faisalabad to discuss their concerns and encourage them to participate in the movement. He announced that sit-ins would also begin in Quetta from the following day. Hafiz Naeem said the protests and sit-ins would continue until the government accepted the party’s demands. He added that consultations were under way over a possible call for a march towards Islamabad. The Jamaat chief said the party was not yet formally announcing a wheel-jam strike, but expressed the view that the September 3 strike could eventually turn into a complete shutdown. He strongly criticised prolonged power outages across the country and questioned who would be held responsible for the situation. He said ending load-shedding was among the key demands of the protest movement. He also demanded the withdrawal of fixed charges imposed on electricity bills and called for the immediate termination of agreements with independent power producers. Hafiz Naeem accused the government of burdening citizens with rising fuel and electricity costs. He said gas shortages had also reached alarming levels, despite consumers paying high prices for the commodity. Criticising the government’s taxation policies, he alleged that authorities were focused on collecting taxes while businesses were being pushed towards closure. He accused government officials of enjoying expensive facilities at the expense of ordinary citizens. The Jamaat chief warned that if the levy and so-called “bhatta tax” were not withdrawn, no one would be able to stop a mass public movement. He further alleged that the government had been formed through what he described as a “Form 47” mandate and claimed that the party’s protests had exposed irregularities involving diesel pricing. According to Hafiz Naeem, additional refinery charges were being imposed on locally produced diesel, further increasing the burden on consumers and businesses. He also raised questions over the deaths of 14 children in the fire at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), demanding accountability over the incident and criticising the hospital’s administration. The Jamaat chief also accused the country’s three major political parties of engaging in what he described as a political “noora kushti”, alleging that they were creating the appearance of confrontation while avoiding substantive action. Hafiz Naeem said Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its campaign until its demands were addressed and urged traders, industrialists and citizens to join the protest movement.