Police Book JI Karachi Chief, 1,000 activists over protest march, JI terms it political vengeance

KARACHI: Police have registered a case against the leadership and activists of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi following a march “Jenay Do Karachi” held yesterday. While the JI has termed the government’s move as “political vengeance and fascism,” ARY News reported.

The First Information Report (FIR), numbered 26/37, was registered at the Tipu Sultan Police Station against JI Karachi Chief Munim Zafar and approximately 1,000 activists, workers, and supporters.

According to the FIR, some JI activists were found pitching tents after digging up roads with sharp-edged equipment on Shahrah-e-Faisal.

Responding to the Sindh government’s move, a JI spokesperson stated that registering an FIR against a peaceful protest is an act of political vengeance. “It is a failed attempt to suppress the voice of the people,” the spokesperson added.

He further stated that JI’s struggle for the rights of Karachiites would not be deterred by legal cases.

The spokesperson announced that the party will hold a full-force protest sit-in on February 14 outside the Sindh Assembly building.

“We are not afraid of any FIR,” the spokesperson concluded.

Yesterday, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan Chief, Engineer Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has announced a protest sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly on February 14. Warning the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to “pack up,” the JI leader addressed a massive “Jeenay Do Karachi March” (Let Karachi Live) on Shahrah-e-Faisal this Sunday.

During the rally, Hafiz Naeem criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for failing to visit the city following the tragic Gul Plaza inferno. “It is a matter of shame,” he remarked. “The Premier did not even arrive to share the grief of victims’ families in the city that runs the entire country.”

The JI Chief also lambasted President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, noting that despite maintaining residences in Karachi, neither leader visited the site of the deadly fire. Directing his comments at Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Mayor Murtaza Wahab, he warned: “Quit the government gracefully, otherwise Gen Z will force you to run away.”

Hafiz Naeem dismissed the ongoing friction between the MQM-P and the PPP as a “sham contest,” accusing both parties of robbing the city of its resources.

“We must end this system of occupation,” he declared. “We do not accept the occupation of Karachi by the federal or provincial governments.”

He further emphasized that while the Constitution mandates that power be devolved to local governments, current rulers continue to deprive the masses of their rights.

Referring to the recent tragedy, he said: “Humans were burning in the Gul Plaza fire, but there was no one to help them.”

Even he said that the sit-in will continue in sacred month of Ramzan.

Concluding his address, the JI Chief stated that the people of Karachi are demanding their right to live and progress. He demanded that the city be granted a powerful, authoritative local government system.