Food Shortages and Inflation Loom; Hafiz Naeemur Rehman Calls for Subsidies on Essential Commodities and Farm Inputs
Flood devastation blamed on Indian water aggression and rulers’ incompetence
Gujrat, Phalia ( Web News )
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has warned of looming severe inflation, food shortages, and an agricultural crisis in the wake of the recent floods. He demanded that the government immediately announce subsidies on essential food items, fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural medicines.
Speaking to flood-affected communities, JI and Al-Khidmat volunteers, and media representatives in Gujrat and Phalia (Mandi Bahauddin district), Rehman said that rulers must end their practice of spending public money on personal publicity. “People pay taxes so they can access basic necessities at controlled prices. The government must act swiftly to prevent food shortages,” he stressed.
Rehman was accompanied by JI North Punjab chief Dr. Tariq Saleem, Gujrat district emir Ansar Mehmood Advocate, Al-Khidmat North Punjab president Rizwan Ahmed, Gujrat district emir Saifullah Sahi, Al-Khidmat district president Imtiaz Shakoor Butt, and other leaders.
He warned that after wreaking havoc in northern and eastern Punjab, floodwaters are now heading toward South Punjab and Sindh. “The government neither made proper plans to prevent environmental destruction nor presented Pakistan’s case effectively at the global level. Land grabbers and timber mafias are operating freely with no accountability,” he said, blaming both Indian water aggression and the incompetence of Pakistani rulers for the devastation.
“Gujrat city has drowned, boats are moving in the streets. Seeing the plight of flood victims is heartbreaking. We assure them that Jamaat-e-Islami will fight their case with full force—not for politics or elections, but to serve humanity and seek the pleasure of Allah,” Rehman declared.
He strongly criticized the construction of housing colonies on riverbeds, calling the developers a mafia protected by every successive government. “These crocodiles must be dealt with. Whether rulers are in power for three and a half years or 35 years, mafias always become their ATMs and share in the spoils,” he said.
He dismissed the government’s narrative of floods being merely a “natural disaster,” insisting that the destruction was the result of rulers’ injustices. “Farmers are ruined, people are displaced, while rulers are busy in photo sessions. From bottled water to basic health centers, they want their names written everywhere for personal glorification,” he lamented.
Rehman said the public, especially the youth, now understand the rulers’ tactics and know which parties stand with them in times of crisis. He announced that Jamaat-e-Islami will hold a “historic and grand rally” at Minar-e-Pakistan on November 21, which he described as the beginning of a major, organized movement for systemic change.
He also slammed the government over urban flooding, particularly in major cities. “After ruling for 40 years, they still don’t know the sewerage system is broken. After 17 years in power, Bilawal Bhutto has just realized that Karachi’s taps are dry. Twenty billion rupees were handed to the MQM, which couldn’t even win 20 booths in the national elections,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Rehman accused the establishment of imposing a dynastic stranglehold on the country’s politics. “The system of family monopolies is maintained and enforced by the establishment itself,” he asserted.