Sindh Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Muhammad Hussain Mehanti has termed the tenure of the latest caretaker government as a dark era in the country’s history.
He criticised the caretaker government for misusing its power and significantly increasing fuel and electricity prices on multiple occasions. He claimed that these hikes, influenced by the International Monetary Fund, had placed a burden of Rs1,061 billion on the consumers.
The JI leader also highlighted the rise in petrol and diesel prices that contributed to a surge in inflation and skyrocketing prices of essential goods. He accused the caretaker government of exceeding its mandated three-month term, with extensions in the federation and Punjab and KP lasting up to 13 months.
“This is seen as a blatant violation of the constitution and the law,” he commented. The JI leader also criticised the other political parties, such as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party for having played with the Constitution and law in the past. He said that these parties under the banner of the Pakistan Democratic Movement undermined Pakistan's constitution and disregarded public rights.
He argued that the caretaker government's primary responsibility was to ensure free and fair elections, but it miserably failed to do so. Referring to the controversies surrounding the recent general elections, he accused the government of complicity in stealing the people's mandate.
He took a jibe at former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar for his leadership style, describing it as dictatorial rather than politically neutral. He condemned Kakar's handling of issues like missing persons, journalist arrests, and the situations in Kashmir and Palestine.
Mehanti added that the caretaker government prioritised the interests of the elite and IMF over the Constitution, law and the needs of the people. He criticised the allocation of a bullet-proof car and a bungalow to the former caretaker prime minister after his retirement by terming it as insensitive and disrespectful to the public who suffered under his administration.
In another statement, Mehanti condemned the raid on the house of the opposition’s presidential candidate Mahmood Khan Achakzai, saying that the act desecrated the sanctity of the home.
The JI leader said that attacking the house of a national leader like a dacoit in the darkness of night was the worst kind of dictatorship.
He commented, “Politics means serving the country and the nation, with patience and tolerance, and respect for the constitution and law, but today, unfortunately, in the homeland, politics has been turned into abusing, taking revenge against opponents, and looting the national wealth to fill one's coffers.” He demanded that the incident be investigated and the perpetrators be punished effectively.