Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced a major public campaign to challenge the policies of the ruling party, terming the Pakistan Peoples Party’s 17-year rule in Sindh as characterized by “dacoit raj” and widespread corruption.
From January 1, JI will launch its “Change the System, Improve Sindh” campaign across the province. Under this campaign, large public gatherings will be held in Sukkur and Mirpurkhas, which will be addressed by JI’s central Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman and other senior leaders.
Addressing a meeting of district officials, JI Sindh Ameer Kashif Saeed Sheikh stressed that under the current government, corruption and lawlessness have become the “identity of Sindh.” He alleged that from Karachi to Garhi Khairo, citizens are being targeted by dacoits and extortionists.
Sheikh said, “Everywhere, agents of the system, who have the patronage of influential people in the government, are exploiting the public. There is no one to listen to the people’s pleas.” He declared his party as the “voice of the oppressed” and expressed his resolve to expose the “anti-people and anti-Sindh policies” of the PPP.
Sheikh also accused the provincial government of being involved in the illegal distribution of lands and the cutting of the Karoonjhar hills. He also criticized the government for the deteriorating infrastructure, saying that despite Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah’s claims of “all is well,” the roads from Karachi to Kashmore are unsafe and dilapidated.
The JI provincial Ameer described the ongoing tribal conflicts as a “festering wound” and linked the recent tragic incident in Shikarpur to the PPP’s long tenure.
The party presented a set of demands to the government, calling for serious measures to restore law and order, end corruption, protect the lives and property of residents, and provide basic facilities like clean water, health, and education.
Echoing these criticisms, JI Sindh General Secretary Muhammad Yusuf claimed that the “incompetent” government has ruined the province, leaving the people of the resource-rich region in a state of poverty and destitution.
Provincial leaders Altaf Ahmed Mallah, Suhail Ahmed, Abdul Quddus Ahmedani, Zahid Rajpar, and Mujahid Channa were also present at the Hyderabad meeting.