At a Badal Do Nizam Workers’ Convention in Lala Musa, Liaquat Baloch, deputy ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, said Punjab holds central importance but has been deprived of its true rights by a few elite families, landlords, capitalists and vested interests backed by the establishment.
He warned that nearly 120 million people of Punjab have been marginalized by incompetent rulers who have brought disrepute rather than service to the province. He said Jamaat-e-Islami will act as the true spokesperson for the people of Punjab and work to make the province a center of national unity, development and brotherhood among all provinces.
Announcing the next phase of the Badal Do Nizam movement, Liaquat Baloch said a comprehensive plan will target what he called the ‘black law’ governing local government in Punjab, push for the establishment of genuinely empowered local bodies and ensure the transfer of real authority to the people.
He criticized the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for failing to introduce empowered local government systems despite holding federal and provincial power. He added that those who insist on constitutional norms abroad must also respect the constitution, the rule of law and judicial independence at home.
Dr Tariq Saleem, ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab, said the movement for systemic change entered a new phase after the historic Lahore Minar-e-Pakistan gathering and urged party workers to carry the Badal Do Nizam message to their localities. He described Jamaat-e-Islami as an ideological movement committed to establishing a just and moral system.
Dr Tariq Saleem accused a ruling class that imposes itself through bureaucracy of exploiting the masses, calling that oppressive and exploitative system the root of Pakistan’s problems that must be dismantled.
Other speakers at the convention included Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami District Gujrat Rana Umar Siddique and Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Lala Musa Dr Syed Haider Ali, who joined calls for the party to lead local government reform in Punjab.
Jamaat-e-Islami said it will press ahead with the Badal Do Nizam campaign to mobilize public support in Punjab, arguing that strengthened local government and grassroots empowerment are essential to stabilizing the country and steering it out of recurring crises.
