JI chief says ‘PPP has ruined Karachi’

KARACHI: Central Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Saturday alleged that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has ruined Karachi over 18 years of rule in Sindh, and those who installed a PPP mayor on the city “must” now take responsibility for fixing it. Addressing a press conference at Idara Noor-e-Haq, the JI Karachi headquarters, he accused the PPP of doing nothing but “loot and corruption” and reiterated his party’s demand for an empowered city government in Karachi and a strong local government system across the country. On international affairs, Hafiz Naeem said Muslim rulers must openly declare that any US or Israeli attack on Iran amounts to terrorism. He criticized Pakistan’s participation in what he described as Trump’s Gaza peace board, saying mediation requires neutrality, which becomes impossible once Donald Trump — who has even been nominated for a Nobel Prize — is accepted as its head. He added that the board has no legal standing as it was created in competition with the United Nations. He said board representatives have spoken of disarming Hamas before any peace process, which he called a contradiction since Hamas is the very party with whom peace is being negotiated. He declared there is no longer any moral, legal, or humanitarian justification for Pakistan to remain part of the body, and urged Islamabad to not only withdraw but also persuade Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and all Gulf states to do the same. He praised Spain for openly condemning the United States. Hafiz Naeem praised Pakistan’s role in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia and suggested that Iran and Turkey be included in the Pakistan-Saudi defense agreement. He said such a bloc would symbolize Muslim unity and weaken Israel, adding that peace in the region cannot be achieved as long as Israel exists in its current form, calling it an “illegitimate state”. He also urged Gulf States to recognize that American military bases on their soil are not for their protection but for the strengthening of Israel, and called for a review of multi-billion-dollar agreements with Washington. On fuel pricing, he dismissed the Prime Minister’s claim to have rejected a summary proposing increases of Rs200 and Rs95 per litre in petrol and diesel prices, noting the summary originated from the government itself. He said the government is collecting between Rs120 and Rs125 per litre in taxes on petrol, including Rs105 as levy, which he stressed is entirely unrelated to the base fuel price. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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