Karachi’s problems: JI chief threatens to launch ‘rights movement’

KARACHI: Central Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has called on the government to take urgent steps to resolve Karachi’s worsening problems, warning that failure to act will force his party to unleash a large-scale rights movement.

Speaking at a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq on Tuesday with JI Karachi Chief Monem Zafar Khan and other party members, Hafiz Naeem said the city is drowning in crisis of water, power, education, health, and transport.

He warned that the continued neglect by those in power is pushing the situation to a dangerous point of no return, and that the patience of Karachi’s people is wearing thin with every passing day. He said Karachi has long suffered under ethnic politics that robbed its youth of jobs and any hope for a better future.

The JI Chief said, across Pakistan, more than 110 million people are living below the poverty line, deepening the distrust between citizens and the state.

He warned that the education sector is being stripped of quality and accessibility, with institutions handed over to NGOs and merit seats at NED University reduced to make way for costly self-finance schemes. Suspension of university grants, he said, has further locked the doors of higher education to the lower-income classes.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025