HYDERABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has launched a province-wide public outreach campaign titled ‘Change the System, Develop Sindh’ against what it terms the continued misrule of a few influential families in Sindh.
Addressing a press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club on Sunday, Sindh JI General Secretary Muhammad Yousuf and local party leaders said Sindh was being ruled by the Pakistan Peoples Party for the past 17 years, during which key sectors including health, education and industry had been destroyed. He alleged that lawlessness prevailed across the province with both riverine and urban areas under the control of criminals.
No visible development work could be seen in Hyderabad, the second largest city of Sindh, he said and questioned how the city’s longstanding issues would be resolved. He claimed that the PPP had entrenched its control over every district of Sindh.
He said that due to poor sanitation and heaps of garbage, cases of malaria and dengue had increased in Hyderabad. Yousuf termed the overall law and order situation alarming, stating that farmers were facing economic murder, and many had been forced to abandon agriculture. He lamented that a large number of doctors and engineers were leaving the country due to lack of opportunities.
Referring to the JI’s recent public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan, he said the party raised Sindh’s issues at the national level and had now decided to launch a movement against the prevailing system.
He asserted that the ruling parties were incapable of delivering relief to the people and that the public wanted freedom from them. Continuing with his criticism of the PPP, he said it was a party limited to one family and a few feudal elites, whereas ordinary people in Sindh lacked basic necessities such as footwear, clothing, education and health care. He said the JI would act as the frontline force for changing the system and had also convened an all parties’ conference to build pressure on the government.
