Jamaat-e-Islami Launches Z-Connect, Expands Bano Qabil Nationwide

Jamaat-e-Islami leadership addressed a major Al-Khidmat youth gathering in Karachi, celebrating volunteer efforts while sharply criticising Pakistan’s deepening class divide. The speaker contrasted the privileged elite capturing state resources with the burdened salaried class, farmers, and students, framing Al-Khidmat’s expanding services as a direct response to government neglect.

Economic Disparity and the Taxation Burden

The speaker outlined a stark division between an elite aristocracy enjoying free fuel and electricity and a majority population crushed by indirect taxation. He stated that the salaried class paid 650 to 700 billion rupees in taxes annually, while feudal landlords holding thousands of acres collectively contributed only twelve billion rupees. The speaker alleged that thirty-six taxes exist in electricity bills alone, including a fixed tax unrelated to consumption.

He detailed the petroleum levy structure, claiming approximately 135 to 136 rupees per litre goes to the government through levy, climate support levy, and customs duty, irrespective of global oil prices. The speaker criticised the Punjab Chief Minister for purchasing an eleven billion rupee plane and a 665 million rupee bulletproof vehicle tender while denying subsidies during global price spikes. He further alleged 1,300 billion rupees in FBR corruption and a government target to collect 1,570 billion rupees from the middle class and poor via levies.

Political Independence and the Anti-Mafia Stance

The speaker argued that no major political party challenges the ruling mafias—land, IPP, oil marketing, and banking—because these cartels fund and operate within them. He asserted that Jamaat-e-Islami remains independent, funded solely by worker donations, enabling it to confront these interests without fear of financial coercion. The speaker announced an ongoing movement against the petroleum levy, promising imminent good news for the public regarding its removal and a reduction in fuel prices.

He described a network of cartels extending from top officials downwards, protecting each other while the middle class shrinks and poverty rises. The speaker urged the youth to raise an effective voice against this two-class system, stating that Jamaat-e-Islami is uniquely positioned to lead this exposure because it is not hostage to the mafias controlling other parties.

Al-Khidmat’s Nationwide Educational Expansion

The speaker highlighted the Bano Qabil programme’s growth from Karachi to Chitral, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and all four provinces, including recent launches in Gwadar, Loralai, Jaffarabad, and Quetta. He noted that aptitude tests in Balochistan filled entire grounds despite poor conditions, attributing this demand to government failure in education. The programme now registers sixteen to seventeen lakh students, with millions passing out, impacting the economy and society.

Courses are being redesigned to prioritise artificial intelligence, ensuring trainees meet modern era demands. The speaker contrasted Al-Khidmat’s non-discriminatory service—serving Pashtuns, Sindhis, Baloch, Muhajirs, Punjabis, Saraikis, Kashmiris, Gilgitis, Baltis, Memons, Gujaratis, and non-Muslims—with what he termed the racist policies of the provincial government closing doors on Karachi domicile holders in government jobs.

Z-Connect Programme Targets Generation Z

The newly launched Z-Connect programme aims to empower Generation Z through three pillars: IT courses with AI focus, startup support including micro-financing and incubation space, and sports facilitation for both genders. The speaker warned that without pathways, youth potential turns toward anxiety and drug addiction, facilitated by open drug access in educational institutions while state action remains absent.

He stressed that technical skills require ethical grounding, citing Israel and America as examples of technology wielded without humanity, causing destruction in Gaza. The programme integrates moral training to ensure technology serves humanity. The speaker called for a purposeful life, respect for elders, political struggle against elite capture, and self-improvement, reminding the youth that Pakistan belongs to those who created it, not to generals, bureaucrats, or politicians.