KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami Chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday deplored ‘Trump–Sharif–Asim’ meeting for ignoring Israel’s genocide, rejecting Shahbaz Sharif’s Nobel Prize pitch for Trump, and urging Pakistanis to join the global Palestine protests on October 7.
He said that while Israel martyred 83 innocent Palestinians, including 50 women and children, on the day of the meeting, the joint communiqué merely emphasised ending the war. “Under US patronage, 66,000 Palestinians have been martyred so far,” he added.
Addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq here, Hafiz Naeem further accused Israel of repeatedly deceiving in peace negotiations and even violating diplomatic norms by attacking Qatar, an act he said reflected Tel Aviv’s aggressive disregard for the international law.
In a bid to galvanize public support for the Gaza cause, the JI Chief appealed to the nation to take part in the global protest campaign for at least one hour by standing on the roadsides on October 7.
Turning to the broader issue, he said Palestine had emerged as the most important issue in the world amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He announced that the JI would take out “million marches” to express solidarity with Gaza on October 4 in Lahore and on October 5 in Karachi.
Hafiz Naeem said the JI fully supports the Sumud Freedom Flotilla, describing it as the largest convoy of its kind, and praised people worldwide who continue to protest against Israel. He urged Pakistan’s government and opposition to openly condemn Israel, instead of “hiding behind” the two-state solution, which he described as a deviation from Pakistan’s historic Palestine policy laid down by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
On the domestic front, the JI chief said the PML-N and PPP were engaged in a “friendly match” instead of addressing people’s problems. He criticised government policies for devastating farmers by manipulating wheat prices, which allowed middlemen to profit while farmers suffered losses and consumers faced costly flour. Agricultural growth, he noted, had collapsed from 6.5 percent to 0.5 percent.
Hafiz Naeem also denounced corruption in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), alleging that deserving citizens are deprived of funds while political agents seize ID cards and ATM cards to benefit themselves. He demanded a forensic audit of the programme.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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