Achakzai links peace to stability in Afghanistan, amicable ties with India

LAHORE: Chairman Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Mehmood Khan Achakzai has said peace is not possible in the region without stability in Afghanistan and having cordial relationship with neighbouring country India.

“It is not possible to envision peace in the region without stability in Afghanistan, amicable relations with India and a resolve by India and China to desist militarisation of the Indian Ocean,” stated Achakzai while addressing the Lahore High Court Bar Association.

In his characteristic unguarded manner Achakzai spoke about the Pakistan China Economic Corridor (CPEC), relations with Afghanistan, India and the significantly poised geo-strategic position of Pakistan.

Invited by LHCBA president Masood Chishti, chairman PkMAP Achakzai’s stringent articulation of political imbalance in the country captivated the legal practitioners and the media, whose terminal exposure to ‘manipulated politics’ had demonised politicians. “We have the best army in the world but democracy in whatever form cannot function unless institutions operate within their prescribed ambit. Politicians or leaders can neither be invented nor created. It is a sacrilege to corrupt politicians and command them to follow a scripted document. Institutions should be supreme to individuals, but unfortunately manipulated politics has inversed it,” said Achakzai.

In unequivocal words Mehmood Khan Achakzai said he had suggested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to assume the role of a patron to settle the distrust among people and provinces created by the Pakistan China Economic Corridor (CPEC).

“I asked Mian Sahib to act as the patron and hold talks with China with the people of this country acting as adjudicators. CPEC should be transparent and acceptable to all the provinces. Currently, the deal with China is viewed with suspicion and should not have turned into a national controversy. It would not have if the government had kept its negotiations open to the people and their elected representatives,” asserted Achakzai.

Achakzai pivoted peace in the region on non-interference in Afghanistan and cordiality between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The rivalry between Islamic countries, particularly Iran and Saudi Arab, will endanger the peace in the entire Muslim world. “I fear great instability not just in this region but globally”. You are a witness to what is happening in the rest of the world. Vying for global or regional supremacy can never ensure peace. We need to steer clear of becoming a proxy state. Ironically, previous policies neither ensured stability nor enabled us to become a nation.”

Achakzai exhorted that without the rule of law and justice a state or a society could not be viable. “We should respect and accept the authority of elected representatives if want a functional democracy,” he said.