CHITRAL: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said on Saturday that politics of bullets and abuse had become common in the country, education was expensive and class-based, and corruption and nepotism dominated every sector.
Addressing a ceremony of the Information Technology programme “Bano Qabil” in Chitral, he said the initiative had emerged as a game changer, adding that 1.45 million students had so far registered for the free IT education programme launched by Al-Khidmat Foundation.
Thousands of male and female students appeared in the admission test organised under the Al-Khidmat Foundation’s free IT training programme and successful candidates would receive training in courses of varying durations.
Hafiz Naeem announced that the scope of Bano Qabil had been expanded to include technical courses in addition to IT education. He said thousands of IT laboratories had already been established across the country and that the programme had now been renamed “Z-Connect,” which would also focus on sports promotion and moral development of youth.
He urged youth to strengthen their bond with religion, saying Pakistan came into existence after great sacrifices and that the new generation should not lose hope in the country but instead move forward with unity and confidence.
The JI chief said the youth should equip themselves with both religious and modern education, serve the nation, and become part of his party’s struggle for systemic change.
He said that while the party was pressuring the government to provide quality and free education to the younger generation, it was also playing its own role through welfare initiatives.
“We will pull the nation out of despair and darkness and bring about a revolution with help of the youth,” he said.
Hafiz Naeem added that the objectives for which Pakistan was created had unfortunately not been achieved even after 79 years. He alleged that elites, feudal lords and influential political families continued to dominate the country by switching political parties, while bureaucracy ruled unchecked and ordinary people were denied justice and access to education. He urged the people to unite for their rights and support JI in changing what he described as the prevailing obsolete system.
Referring to issues faced by Chitral, he said the region lacked basic facilities and accused ruling parties of failing to safeguard public rights. He added that JI would secure the rights of the people through peaceful resistance. Among others who addressed the gathering were Inayatullah Khan, Waqas Anjum Jafri and district chief Wajihuddin.
