KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman on Monday questioned Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari over the minimum wage amount and its implementation, arguing that most families cannot meet their basic needs on a monthly income of Rs43,000.

Addressing a press conference at JI Karachi headquarters Idara Noor-i-Haq, he also said that while the Sindh government has fixed the minimum wage at Rs43,000, the public should be informed about the actual earnings of labourers working on the Bhutto family’s estates.

Farm workers, he said, are given only a small share of grain by the landlords and are kept in conditions resembling servitude. He also said the PPP maintained a feudal culture within the party, adding that hereditary privilege outweighed the contributions of long-serving party workers.

The JI chief also criticised the federal budget, saying it failed to provide meaningful relief to private-sector employees, labourers and ordinary citizens. He noted that while government employees had received a limited salary increase, parliamentarians’ salaries and benefits had already been raised by 300 to 400 per cent.

Says most families can’t meet basic needs even on Rs43,000 per month

He further expressed concern over the lack of an increase in pensions for Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) beneficiaries and called on media organisations to ensure fair wages and rights for their workers.

Hafiz Naeem said the petroleum levy had become a heavy burden on motorcycle riders and ordinary citizens, many of whom do not earn enough to pay income tax. He demanded that petrol prices be fixed at Rs225 per litre, the petroleum levy be abolished immediately, and heavy taxes in electricity bills and agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) be reviewed and terminated.

Stressing that the JI believes in peaceful political struggle and democratic resistance, he announced that the party would soon call on the youth across the country to stage protests against the levy by switching off their motorcycles and other vehicles on major highways and roads.

Commenting on national issues, he said the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir should be resolved through dialogue rather than force, and urged authorities to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities. He asked the action committee in Azad Kashmir to purge their ranks and files of miscreants and continue their rights movement under the ambit of the Constitution of Pakistan.

He also called on the government to secure the recovery of Priya Kumari and other Pakistani citizens reportedly held hostage by pirates in Somalia. The JI leader criticised alleged interference in political processes, referring to controversies surrounding election management and results. He accused the PPP of undermining democracy and reiterated the party’s claim that JI’s mandate in the Karachi local government elections had been usurped.

Published in Dawn, June 23rd , 2026