Achakzai for probe into all tragedies, including May 9 riots

MARDAN: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai on Sunday said all tragedies, including May 9 riots, should be investigated.

Speaking at Meet-the-Press programme at Mardan Press Club, he said the population of Balochistan was equal to a district of Punjab. He said the people of Balochistan lived in abject poverty despite having natural resources in abundance.

He claimed that before the 2024 general election, he was told that “so and so” would be the prime minister, “so and so” would be the foreign minister and the defense minister.

Mahmood Khan said Allah Almighty had blessed the land of Pakhtuns with all kinds of resources but unfortunately the Pakhtuns lived in poverty.

He added that though the country was named Islamic Republic of Pakistan, it was neither Islamic nor democratic.

“Pakistan is our country. We want to live here as equal citizens and want control over our resources,” he said.

He maintained that believe it or not, Imran Khan’s PTI had won the last general election and they should have been allowed to form a government.

He added that if the rule meant to construct roads, buildings and hospitals, then the British were doing it better than us besides giving us judicial, police, education, railway and other systems. He said, “We expelled the British from this region so that we can get control over resources and get the right to rule.”

To a question about the investigation into the May 9, Mahmood Khan said that the incident of 18 October, assassination of Benazir Bhutto and Murtaza Bhutto, Fall of Dhaka and other incidents should also be investigated. He said Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission’s report should be made public.

He said his party was not in favour of granting extension to any state functionary.