Peshawar woke up to strong words this week. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman told reporters at Al-Markaz Islami what many families in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have been thinking for years. The province needs peace before it needs anything else. He also appreciated the new Makkah Defence Pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye as a real step toward Muslim unity.
The reason for the real story is K-P peace
For ordinary people in Peshawar, Bannu or Dera Ismail Khan, “Peace” is not a slogan. It means being able to send children to school without fear, run a shop without extortion calls or drive a rickshaw at night without worry. Hafiz Naeem told the press conference that the first duty of the government was to give security to the people of K-P. “The locals are entitled to their fair share of the province’s resources and mineral wealth,” he said. “This has been an issue in mining communities for years with little change.
And he directly tied this to jobs. Without steady jobs for the youth, the underlying issues in K-P will keep resurfacing, he argued.
The Afghan Border Trade Perspective
The JI chief also took up the issue of the closed Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which has hurt traders of both sides. He proposed a Pak-Afghan border trade zone, worked out with all stakeholders and asked both governments to sit down and talk instead of trading blame. He also called for Afghan territory not to be used to launch attacks against Pakistan and for easier travel for students and recognition of medical degrees earned by Pakistani students in Afghanistan.
Makkah Defense Pact support
On the Muslim Unity front, Hafiz Naeem welcomed the Makkah Defense Pact signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye and asked Iran and other Islamic countries to join it. This view is not unique to him. Other party chiefs, including PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, have also praised the pact as a milestone for regional cooperation. For Pakistanis watching the rising tension in the Middle East, a defense pact based on Islamic solidarity is reassuring.
What it Means for Ordinary People: A Quick Checklist
•Watch out for local job schemes connected to K-P’s mineral riches in the coming months.
•Follow updates on the Pak-Afghan border trade zone proposal, especially if you trade or travel across it.
•Evaluate the impact of the Makkah Defense Pact on Pakistan’s foreign policy with Gulf states.
•Be wary of JI’s proposed protests on Aug 16 over the petroleum levy and rising power bills that may affect movement in major cities.
Conclusion
Hafiz Naeem’s press conference joined three threads that matter to ordinary Pakistanis: safety at home in K-P, open trade with Afghan neighbors and Pakistan’s place in a wider Muslim alliance. None of these are quick fixes, but they do point the debate in the right direction for the months ahead. Watch what the government does in response because that will dictate the lives of K-P day to day more than any one speech.
