LAHORE: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)’s Ijtima-e-aam in Lahore culminated at the announcement of countrywide ‘Change the System Movement’, here on Sunday.

The JI leader Engr Hafiz Naeemur Rehman announced the movement while addressing the final session of the magnificent event that hosted delegates from over 45 countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Engr Naeemur Rehman announced that under the movement rallies, marches and sit-ins will be held across the country.

Calling for political reforms, he said that powers should not rest with the bureaucracy but with local governments. He said empowered local governments is the need of the hour and the crucial demand of the movement.

He instructed the party’s provincial leadership in Punjab to begin a movement for local body elections, stating that this is not just Punjab’s issue but that of the entire country.

He said that in Sindh, KP, and Balochistan too, the elite class has captured all powers, and a movement is needed against this. “The local government system is the need of the time and our principal demand. The success of Jamaat-e-Islami is a need for Pakistan.”

He further announced that under the “Change the System” movement, five million new members would be added and 15,000 public committees created. He demanded constitutional protection for the local government system and instructed the Punjab leadership to prepare for a sit-in in front of the provincial assembly.

Rejecting the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments, he said: “We will strongly resist every attempt to deface the 1973 Constitution. We will not allow elections to be hijacked at any cost.”

He said the JI did not accept banning political parties; nor should TLP be banned; neither should Imran Khan be kept in jail for political reasons.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2025