Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday addressed a massive rally on Karachi’s Sharea Faisal and called on the nation to take to the streets on October 7 as a show of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

According to a press release from the JI, the participants of the “Gaza Solidarity March” chanted slogans against Israel and its supporters over the ongoing genocide in the enclave. They were also carrying placards and banners and people from all walks of life participated in the event and formed a chain to express solidarity.

“Any paradigm shift in Pakistan’s policy on Palestine — [which was] set by none other than Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah — will not be tolerated at any cost,” Rehman said in his keynote address, according to the press release.

“On March 23, 1940, two resolutions were passed by the Muslim League — one called [the] Pakistan Resolution and the second one was for Palestine,” he added. “There is only one state and that is Palestine, whereas there is only one leadership in Gaza and that is Hamas.”

The JI chief demanded that the government recognise Hamas as the leadership in the Gaza Strip, while “warning them strongly” against joining the Abraham Accords, a series of normalisation agreements between Israel and Arab states.

“He (Rehman) further said that Israel had totally failed militarily in Gaza as it couldn’t get its soldiers freed by Hamas and was in fact engaging Hamas in one way or another to secure their release,” the statement read.

“Hamas is a resistance movement that represents the people of Gaza. However, the ruling class is not even willing to mention the name … because they are afraid of any movement that comes from the people,” Rehman was quoted as saying. “The ruling elite dislikes any movement that opposes the United States and Israel.”

The JI chief added that Hamas was a legal political movement and if they had taken up arms, it they did so according to the UN Charter. Moreover, he demanded that the government “abandon hypocrisy and double standards” and accept the people of Gaza and Hamas, adding that Hamas offices must be opened in Pakistan.

“On the occasion, he stressed the need [for] another United Nations as the present one became a total failure and agent of the US and Israel,” the press release read.

“It never solved the issues of Muslims. He (Rehman) was of the view that the massacre in Palestine happened not because of Hamas, but because of the cowardly Muslim rulers.”

According to the press release, Rehman said that October 7 is a “symbol of struggle and resistance” and that people around the world will come out of their homes to “express solidarity with the resistance forces and oppressed people of Gaza”.

“On October 7 at 11 am, the entire Pakistan will come out on [the] roads in support of Palestinians and [we] ask the nation to join the global solidarity demonstration,” Rehman was quoted as saying.

The Israeli onslaught in Gaza began in October 2023 following an attack by Hamas in Israel. Since then, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, thousands injured and millions displaced.

Last month, UN investigators said that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza in a bid to “destroy the Palestinians”, accusing Israel’s prime minister and other top officials of incitement.

US President Donald Trump worked with eight Muslim countries, including Pakistan, to formulate a peace plan to end the conflict. The proposal was accepted by both Israel and Hamas, although Tel Aviv’s attacks still continue in the Strip.

Moreover, Israeli forces also intercepted and arrested activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla — a fleet of boats trying to deliver aid to the enclave — on October 1, drawing global ire and condemnation. One of the participants arrested was former JI senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who led a Pakistani delegation on the flotilla.