Pakistan to suffer if govt remains in power: Achakzai

QUETTA: Chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, has said that the Constitution is being continuously violated in the country, the people’s mandate has been stolen, and if the current government remains in power, Pakistan will suffer.

He expressed these views while addressing a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Friday.

Achakzai said that the dire situation facing our region — and Pakistan in particular — is the result of the failures and weaknesses of both regional powers and our own rulers, despite the country’s abundant natural and mineral resources. Regretting the lack of foresight, he said he had been warning for years that Pakistan was once again becoming a battleground for international proxy wars, but sadly, no one paid heed.

“Pakistan has been mired in crises since its creation, and the current circumstances are a test of our collective wisdom and insight,” Achakzai added.

Referring to the Middle East, he said that developments in Iran and across the region are a warning sign for Pakistan. “We should not forget the examples of Libya and Iraq. Allegations are now being leveled against us too — it’s time to open our eyes,” he cautioned.

Achakzai said that not only were people initially denied the right to frame a constitution, but even after one was created, it was never allowed to function properly.

Quoting a recent World Bank report, he noted that more than 45 percent of Pakistan’s population lives below the poverty line while the country remains burdened with billions of dollars in debt. He said the entire national budget is consumed by defense expenditures and debt servicing, the judiciary has become ineffective, and the media is in chains.

He said the ruling elite indulges in luxuries while ordinary people struggle to put food on the table. “Public servants and public office holders, whose assets exceed their known sources of income, should have those assets confiscated to repay national debts,” he proposed.

Achakzai claimed the people’s mandate was forcibly snatched and that the current government was formed through money and might. “Everyone knows how this government came into being — it has no moral legitimacy,” he said.

He asserted that every citizen has the right to meet the founder chairman of PTI freely. Unfortunately, an officer sitting in jail is even denying Khan’s family members and elected representatives the right to visit him — a blatant violation of basic human and legal rights.

He reminded the public that every Member of Parliament has the right to visit prisons, yet they are being denied access even to their own leader.

Reiterating his earlier call, Achakzai urged that after Eid, protest demonstrations should be held every Friday in front of mosques to demand the release of Imran Khan and other political prisoners and to end this “illegitimate government.”

He said the Movement for the Protection of the Constitution of Pakistan represents those who truly love this country and called for a broad-based national alliance to save the nation. “This government must resign so that a national unity government can be formed,” he urged.

Achakzai strongly condemned the government’s restrictions on border trade by ordinary citizens and reminded the authorities that it is the state’s duty to ensure livelihoods and to protect the lives and property of its citizens — not to block their sources of income.