Murtaza Wahab Is an Illegitimate and Usurper Mayor, PPP’s Entire System Is a Fraud: Hafiz Naeem

KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has strongly criticised Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, calling him an illegitimate and usurper mayor and describing the Pakistan Peoples Party’s entire system as fraudulent.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of a government school in Nazimabad, Hafiz Naeem said his party had promised to fight for administrative powers and would not abandon the struggle by simply handing over files.

“Our friends are worried by the work we are doing and ask us every day how we are managing to get things done,” he remarked.

The Jamaat-e-Islami chief said the very concept of government schools had been transformed, forcing people to turn towards private educational institutions. He added that private schools also had different categories, with only a small percentage of people able to afford quality education through expensive fees, while the middle class was increasingly burdened.

He said his party had promised to improve government schools and expressed confidence that the newly inaugurated institution would outperform private schools in the entire locality.

“The competition should be based on the quality of education and available facilities,” he said, recalling that personalities such as Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had emerged from government schools, but successive rulers had turned these institutions into ruins.

Hafiz Naeem said providing quality education to citizens was the government’s responsibility. He alleged that the government was collecting up to Rs130 in taxes per litre of petrol but was failing to provide corresponding public facilities.

He maintained that if the state failed to fulfil its responsibilities, it was committing an injustice against the nation.

Recalling the tenure of former Karachi mayor Naimatullah Khan, Hafiz Naeem said government schools were initially administered by the local government but gradually deteriorated over the years.

He alleged that two political parties had remained in power for nearly four decades, during which the condition of public schools worsened to such an extent that children were forced to study under trees.

He added that following his party’s protests, government schools were returned to the town administrations.

Hafiz Naeem further said that when Jamaat-e-Islami assumed control of the town-level administrative system, it undertook efforts to improve neglected roads and restore basic civic facilities.