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KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman has said that lasting peace in Palestine cannot be achieved unless the ongoing genocide of Palestinians is halted and the democratically elected Hamas is formally recognised.
The JI leader expressed these views at a seminar, “Farewell Sermon: Muhammad (PBUH), the Pioneer of Human Rights”, organised by the Islamic Lawyers Movement at Jinnah Auditorium, City Court, on Saturday.
Hafiz Naeem also criticised the United States for its hypocrisy and said that it claimed to champion human rights and democracy while using atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and waging wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
He pointed out that in 2006, Hamas had won democratic elections, yet the US and Israel did not allow it to function. Similarly, when the Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria had secured 80 per cent of the vote, they were prevented from forming a government.
The JI leader said journalists and human rights workers were being targeted in Israeli airstrikes, and the world must understand that lasting peace cannot be achieved by sidelining Hamas or continuing the genocide of Palestinians.
He said Israel is behaving like “a drunk and destructive elephant” and that it must be stopped. Hamas was formed in 1978, yet Israel was already invading Palestine in 1938 and 1940, he added.
According to the UN Charter, Hamas has the right to resist the occupation of its land, he said, adding that Hamas’ political office in Pakistan should be restored.
Hafiz Naeem announced that on Oct 4 in Lahore and Oct 5 in Karachi, there would be massive “Gaza Million Marches”, and on Oct 7, a “Global Day of Protest” will be observed with protests across Pakistan, urging lawyers to also step out of courts for one hour of strong demonstration on the day.
Talking about the local issues, he said that authoritarian governments, feudal lords, and tribal landlords long deprived the people of their fundamental rights. Even today, the country is being run by so-called ‘Form 47’ rulers, not true representatives of the people, he said.
He dubbed the PPP as the ‘A-plus’ team of the establishment, and said that the system operating in Sindh and Karachi was controlled from Islamabad.
Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2025
