LAHORE: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has termed the Punjab Local Government Act fake, anti-democratic and a clear expression of hatred towards the people, announcing that a public referendum would be held on January 15 in favour of a truly empowered local government system.
According to the JI media cell at Mansoora, he was addressing a large public gathering in Attock on Wednesday.
Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said that following the referendum, Jamaat-e-Islami would surround the Punjab Assembly to press for the repeal of the law. He also announced the launch of a fresh, organised movement against what he described as the IPP mafia, alleging that independent power producers were exploiting the country’s energy sector at the expense of the public.
The JI chief stressed that India could never be a well-wisher of the Muslims and warned that Afghan soil must not be used for terrorism inside Pakistan. He said Kabul should not pin its hopes on New Delhi and urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their issues through dialogue. He also made it clear that the Pakistani nation would not accept the deployment of Pakistan’s armed forces to Gaza under any circumstances. A large number of people, including women and children, attended the rally.
Rehman strongly criticised the country’s judicial system, the education crisis and the worsening conditions of workers and farmers. He said the objectives behind Pakistan’s creation had yet to be achieved, adding that the bureaucracy continued to protect a colonial system inherited from the British. He said both the civil and military establishments were operating under the same outdated system, where the bureaucracy viewed itself as rulers rather than servants of the people. He added that feudal lords and capitalists remained loyal to colonial interests generation after generation, while political parties, he said, sought power by appeasing the establishment.
“The country does not need a change of faces, but a change of system,” he said, calling for an intensified struggle to replace the prevailing order.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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