LAHORE: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman has announced a mass protest at the Punjab Assembly if the provincial government does not withdraw the local government law by February 15.
While addressing a press conference at Mansoorah on Tuesday, Rehman said that preliminary results of JI’s ongoing public referendum on the Punjab LG law show an overwhelming rejection of the legislation. “So far, results from around 1.5 million participants have been compiled, of which 99.7 percent have rejected this black law,” he said, adding that the process of compiling results from across the province is still underway.
He stated despite severe cold weather, a large number of people participated in the referendum. The JI, he said, made efforts to reach the maximum number of citizens, while district-level party organizations have also appealed for an extension of the referendum period. He announced that awareness campaigns in support of a genuinely empowered local government system would continue until February 15.
Expressing deep sorrow over the Gul Plaza fire incident, he offered prayers for the deceased and condolences to the bereaved families. He termed the tragedy a complete failure of the Sindh and Karachi local governments and announced a “Million March” in Karachi on February 1 against the rulers imposed on the province and to highlight the city’s chronic problems.
Criticising the ruling parties, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said the PML-N and the PPP claim to be major political forces but are, in reality, confined to two families and a handful of feudal elites. “Both parties suffered humiliating defeats in national elections but were imposed on the people by force,” he said, adding both the parties are anti-democratic. He said successive governments destroyed institutions including the judiciary, agriculture, education, and healthcare.
The JI Emir said the Punjab local government law reflected the PML-N’s fear of grassroots empowerment, while the Gul Plaza fire had exposed the performance of the PPP. Despite Karachi’s grave problems and Sindh’s deteriorating situation, he said, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto is being projected as a “wonder boy.”
In response to a question, the JI chief said the party had decided during its November public gathering to launch a movement for systemic change, and the struggle for an effective local government law was part of that broader campaign. He criticised the continued dominance of feudal lords, bureaucratic elites, and what he described as a colonial-era administrative system, saying that public mandate is routinely undermined through manipulation, including the use of “Form 47.”
When asked, Rehman reiterated JI’s demand for transparent elections under a proportional representation system and the establishment of empowered local governments across the country. He expressed regret over repeated changes in local election schedules in Islamabad and Punjab, and said that the Punjab law opens avenues for the trading of elected representatives at the grassroots level. He also criticised the lack of authority granted to local representatives in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
Commenting on the situation in Palestine, Hafiz Rehman said the US President Donald Trump’s proposal of a “Board of Peace” for Gaza was a new form of colonialism. He asserted that Pakistan should not be part of any such initiative and should instead support a committee representing Palestinians backed by Hamas.
Responding to a question, he said the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen Pakistan had yet to clearly articulate an agenda focused on public rights, though Jamaat-e-Islami supports its legitimate demands and calls for the release of all political prisoners.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026