LAHORE: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has said that family enterprises and cult-based political parties cannot bring change in society.

He was addressing the participants of JI’s Ijtima-i-Aam at Minar-i-Pakistan here on Saturday.

He said that the nation wouldn’t allow the government to accept the supremacy of the United States in connection with foreign policy and internal affairs of Pakistan. He said that Islam does not provide immunity to anyone, be it a marshal or a president.

He directed his party workers to invite all political workers without discrimination to join their struggle to change the ‘corrupt and dilapidated’ system.

Talking about reforms to empower people, he lambasted the Punjab government and questioned why it had not held local government elections in the past one and a half decade.

Talking about the education sector, he said the provincial governments had allocated tens of billions of rupees for the sector, yet the situation was utterly disappointing.

Taking a dig at PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, he said that he claimed to be a democrat, however, he himself was a typical feudal landlord. He questioned why the people of rural Sindh were still deprived of their rights. “A capitalist mindset is making the poor even poorer,” he said, adding that the “Badal Do Nizam” (change the system) movement must also be expanded within Sindh to eliminate feudalism and oppression.

If given the opportunity, he promised to fully empower institutions at the grassroots level, establish neighborhood justice committees, and reform the judicial system in accordance with the Constitution.

He said that Bhutto and Imran Khan raised slogans against feudalism, but later made the same feudals their political guardians. “We will not come to power through anyone’s blessings but through the will of the people,” he said, adding that corporate feudalism had now replaced traditional feudalism, enslaving the public even further.

He said the movement was committed to establishing equal education for all, ensuring labour rights, and guaranteeing fundamental rights for women according to the Constitution.

He also condemned the entrenched power of feudal lords, tribal chiefs, generals, and bureaucrats who “exploit 250 million people to please their superiors.”

“The state is prepared to enforce its writ in every matter except providing education to the youth,” he said.

A prize distribution ceremony was later held to encourage the young talent in the society. Seasoned economists, political scientists and industrialists shared their views and shed light on the potential of Pakistan and the red tape culture, coupled with corruption in almost every sector.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2025