Increasing economic hardship, rising unemployment, growing poverty, and skyrocketing electricity rates have created a sense of discontent among the public, overshadowing political discourse. Both political parties and civil society leaders seem silent.
In this environment, the lack of a strong political voice or any significant action addressing the economic difficulties of ordinary people reflects the priorities of political leaders and civil society goals. While the governance system may be failing the public, we look to opposition or other parties to provide a robust challenge. However, the opposition’s politics also revolve around its own interests.
In this disheartening scenario, the most noticeable event nationally is Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest. Amid widespread apathy, opportunism, and self-interest, Jamaat-e-Islami’s leadership and activists deserve praise for aligning themselves with public interests and difficulties.
Despite lacking a popular mandate, Jamaat-e-Islami has emerged as a vocal and organized force challenging the rulers. It is essential for every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, to support Jamaat-e-Islami’s efforts to press the ruling coalition and potentially bring relief to the public.
Under the leadership of Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami has given a public dimension to its struggle.
According to Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, agreements with IPPs are not a necessity for governments but rather stories of incompetence, corruption, and personal gain. Jamaat-e-Islami has presented a ten-point demand list in this protest, including 50% discount for electricity consumers, elimination of petroleum levy, halting increases in petroleum products, 20% reduction in essential goods prices, removal of new taxes on stationery items, 35% cut in non-developmental government expenditures, ending capacity charges and dollar payments to IPPs, revisiting all agreements, eliminating unfair taxes on agriculture and industry, ending taxes on salaried individuals, and bringing privileged classes into the tax net. These demands reflect the public’s plight rather than just Jamaat-e-Islami’s agenda.
The question arises: Will Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest be effective? The inclusion of powerless committee members and the absence of key government officials in the negotiation process suggest that the discussions may not yield significant results.
It remains to be seen how far Jamaat-e-Islami can advance this resistance and whether they will persist or retreat, or if they will manage to pressure the government into providing substantial relief to the public. Currently, the protest is dominated more by Jamaat-e-Islami’s activists than the general public.
Women within Jamaat-e-Islami are notably active in the protest, as rising inflation and taxes have significantly impacted their family and household systems, placing a substantial economic burden on them.
The protest showcases public issues and could be the beginning of highlighting these concerns. If the ruling class does not change its political and economic approach, similar protests or movements might become dominant in national politics, given the growing public dissatisfaction and limited survival options.
While the ruling class views the protest politics as part of deteriorating conditions, why is the opposition indifferent? Political parties usually engage in protests and rallies when not in power. Why does protest politics occur, and why do we not seek solutions to these issues through parliamentary and other political or governmental forums? The reason our governance system does not prioritize public interest policies is that when representatives in parliament fail to address national issues, how can people exert pressure on rulers? Without the creation of pressure politics by political parties, governmental pressure is not evident, leading to unchecked decisions and policies by rulers.
Currently, Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest is their own, with other parties either indifferent or offering only verbal support.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is not visibly engaged in public politics. PTI faces issues obtaining permission for rallies in Islamabad, Punjab, and Sindh, but there are no obstacles to holding a protest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to show solidarity with Jamaat-e-Islami.
PTI should stand with Jamaat-e-Islami, avoiding merely waving their flags or echoing Imran Khan’s slogans, and actively participate to exert significant pressure on the rulers. Jamaat-e-Islami and PTI could devise a joint strategy.
Negative portrayals or distancing from Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest would be counterproductive. The issue is not party-specific but related to national problems and should be addressed with a national strategy.
Those who believe Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest strategy or Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman’s aggressive approach is incorrect should suggest alternative paths for political and economic recovery in these conditions.
Protest is a part of politics and democracy, and as long as it is peaceful and within legal and political boundaries without inciting rebellion or violence, it should be embraced rather than feared. Jamaat-e-Islami’s protest and resistance are a breath of fresh air in national politics and should be supported at all levels, even without support from other parties.