No democracy in Pakistan as country in undeclared martial law, says Aimal

There is no such thing as democracy in Pakistan. Democracy and the system are being defamed by the undeclared martial law imposed in the country.

Awami National Party (ANP) Central President Aimal Wali Khan made these remarks while addressing on Sunday a public meeting organised by the Sindh ANP at the Jinnah Ground in connection with the 35th death anniversary of Bacha Khan and 19th death anniversary of Khan Abdul Wali Khan.

The country’s problems would be solved through a strong democratic system and dialogue, he said. He asserted that it was not possible to destroy the ANP as the party had not come into being with the help of the state machinery.

He said the ANP was created by the Pakhtun nation and as long as there was the Pakhtun nation, the ANP would exist. “We will surely get our rights,” Aimal declared.

Calling Karachi a common city of all nationalities, he said all the residents of the city deserved compassion. “I will never forget the love that Karachi has given me,” he said.

Recalling the services of Bacha Khan, he said Bacha Khan spent 37 years in prison but he would be remembered as an independent person in history. The ANP president said research was being conducted on the lives of Bacha Khan and his son Wali Khan.

Aimal was of the view that the first political prisoner in the history of Pakistan was Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He said Wali Khan would always be commemorated whenever we would talk about those who held the torch of peace and democracy on our land. Aimal said Bacha Khan snatched the right of vote from the British for us bur our nation had again been deprived of the right to vote.

He said that as a result of the vote, the Khudai Khidmatgar government was formed in 1937 and 1943. The British had accepted the Pakhtun nation’s right to vote, but the current authorities were denying it, he remarked.

He said that today, the nation was deprived of its right to elect its representatives as the state had not been respecting the public mandate.

Aimal said every new elections in Pakistan were more rigged than the previous elections. Recalling terrorist attacks on the ANP before the 2013 elections, Aimal said when the other parties were holding their campaigns in 2013, the ANP was carrying out funerals.

He added that in the 2018 elections, the voting rights of the nation were robbed by installing the RTS. Similarly, he said, the 2024 elections were rigged.

At present, both the government and the opposition were compromised, Aimal remarked. “When we talk about the rights of our nation, we have to face various accusations. Sometimes we are called enemies of the country and sometimes traitors,” he lamented, adding that some institutions were responsible for the mess.

“We have always stood by the rights of the nation against the oppressors and tyrants in every situation,” the ANP president said. Whether it was an operation against terrorists or negotiations with them, it were Pakhtuns who suffered, he maintained.

He also alleged that Pakhtuns were not able to enjoy the natural resources of their land. “We want to make it clear that the Pakhtun nation will not compromise on its natural resources. We have sacrificed our lives for peace and against terrorism.”

He said the ANP leaders and workers were the followers of Bacha Khan and no one should expect them to take a stand against democracy. “We will never stand with the oppressor against the oppressed,” Aimal said.

The public meeting was also addressed by ANP Secretary General Dr Muhammad Saleem Khan, Sindh President Shahi Syed, Sindh General Secretary Younis Buneri, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Mian Iftikhar Hussain, MPA Zamrak Khan Achakzai, MPA Nisar Baz Khan and others.