KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Tuesday warned of launching “massive Karachi Rights Movement” if the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) failed to address the “burning issues” of the city, ranging from education to health and from urban infrastructure to utilities.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq, JI chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman accused the PPP government of deliberately ignoring Karachi due to its “feudal mindset” which is creating hatred, ethnic divide and unease among the people of the metropolis.

“Karachi has become a hub of crises,” he said. “There are acute crises of water, power, education, health, transport and other sectors. Jamaat-i-Islami and Karachiites have paid the price for ethnic politics in the past. However, the injustice and negligence by those in the corridors of power are pushing the situation towards the point of no return.”

He held the PPP government in Sindh responsible for fanning ethnicity in the megacity. He also highlighted the transport issue and said that over 550 Karachiites were killed during the past seven months.

“The dumper, tankers and trailers operate as a mafia in Karachi as the PPP has failed to regulate their timings and routes. The PPP government held dialogue with the dumper mafia but arrested innocent citizens even from roadside hotels in a bid to stir ethnicity-based violence,” said Hafiz Naeem.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025