Jamaat-e-Islami Rejects it Completely
Nationwide Protest Movement Against Anti-People Economic Policies to Be Launched Soon: Ziauddin Ansari Advocate
Lahore(Umar Hayat CH) Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore Ziauddin Ansari Advocate has said that the Provincial Budget 2026-27 is contrary to public expectations and is oppressive, disappointing, and anti-people in nature. He stated that the budget offers no meaningful relief to the common citizen, workers, government employees, traders, or the middle class. Jamaat-e-Islami completely rejects the budget.He expressed these views while addressing a protest press conference against the provincial budget at Syed Maududi Islamic Centre, Litton Road, Lahore. On the occasion, President Public Aid Committee Lahore Qaiser Sharif and Secretary Public Aid Committee Shahid Naveed Malik were also present.Ziauddin Ansari Advocate said that instead of abolishing unnecessary taxes, the government has imposed additional tax burdens on the public through new measures. Despite widespread inflation, unemployment, and economic hardships, the budget fails to provide any real relief to the people.He further stated that critical sectors such as health and education have been neglected in the budget. Public hospitals are already suffering from a severe lack of facilities, and in many hospitals two to three patients are forced to share a single bed. Thousands of government schools and health centers in Punjab have been handed over to the private sector, adversely affecting public services. Private contractors, he argued, are more likely to prioritize profits over improvements in education and healthcare.The Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Lahore criticized the provincial government for focusing on cosmetic development projects while citizens continue to suffer from a lack of basic amenities. He pointed out that numerous roads, flyovers, and underpass projects in Lahore and other cities remain incomplete. With the monsoon season approaching, he urged the government to complete all necessary preparations and development projects before the onset of rains.He also condemned the failure to hold local government elections in Punjab for the past eleven years, calling it a denial of the democratic rights of the people. He alleged that funds allocated for local governments have been diverted for other purposes. He further criticized the repeated renaming of urban areas and historical sites.Ziauddin Ansari Advocate strongly condemned the harassment of traders under the pretext of smart lockdowns, stating that business activities in Lahore have suffered losses worth billions of rupees. He urged the government to facilitate traders and the business community rather than creating additional hardships.He demanded a reduction in traffic fines, the provision of clean drinking water to citizens, and a 100 percent increase in the salaries of government employees. He emphasized that salaries and pensions should be increased in accordance with the prevailing rate of inflation to provide meaningful relief to employees.He said that the budget is merely a deceptive exercise in words and has little connection with public welfare. If the government genuinely wishes to provide relief to the people, it must prioritize health, education, employment, local government systems, and basic civic services.Concluding his address, he said that Jamaat-e-Islami will continue its struggle for the protection of public rights and the provision of genuine relief. He announced that under the leadership of Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, a nationwide protest movement, including shutter-down strikes and wheel-jam strikes, will soon be launched against the prevailing oppressive system.
