Truth-Tellers Are Branded Traitors, the Corrupt Called Loyal”: Mahmood Khan Achakzai’s Fiery Address in Lahore

**Lahore (Daily Qudrat Quetta):** Head of the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan (Movement for the Protection of Pakistan’s Constitution) and Chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, delivered a strong and outspoken speech in Lahore, declaring that his movement has set out to eradicate oppression from the country.

Mahmood Khan Achakzai, along with Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan’s central vice president Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, arrived early in the morning at the residence of Chaudhry Abbas. They were warmly received by prominent journalists, lawyers, political leaders, and activists, including senior journalists Hasan Nisar, Suhail Warraich, Orya Maqbool Jan, Mian Iftikhar Ahmed, senior lawyer Latif Khosa, Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Moeen Qureshi, and others. Flower petals were showered on the guests, while host Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain welcomed the participants.

Addressing the gathering, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said Lahore is a city of scholars and enlightened people, and that he had not come to lecture its citizens, but to jointly reflect on the deep crises facing the country. He said Pakistan, despite being rich in natural resources and hardworking people, has plunged into multidimensional crises due to collective failures, leaving people hungry and deprived.

Referring to the Holy Quran, Achakzai said those who ignore the poor, orphans, and the helpless are the ones who deny religion in practice. He urged people to use wisdom and stand together to save the country.

Criticizing the February 8 general elections, Achakzai claimed there was no parallel in the world where a country’s top court deprived the largest party of its electoral symbol, forcing candidates to contest elections under more than 200 symbols. He alleged that despite what he called a “youth tsunami” winning seats nationwide, results were allegedly overturned through Form-47 manipulation.

He warned that injustice breeds hatred, which in turn leads to conflict and war. “In today’s Pakistan, those who speak the truth are labeled traitors, while those who sell themselves are called loyal,” he said, adding that he would continue to speak the truth regardless of consequences.

Achakzai said history proves that even the most powerful tyrants, like Pharaoh, were ultimately defeated, as Allah stands with the oppressed. “We have come to Lahore to form a caravan of the oppressed with the slogan: ‘We have set out to end oppression.’ We have not come to take anything from you—only your share in the struggle against injustice, or at least your prayers,” he added.

He clarified that he holds no personal enmity with Nawaz Sharif or Shehbaz Sharif, but criticized what he termed flawed institutional training, arguing that state institutions must focus strictly on their constitutional roles. Emphasizing constitutional supremacy and parliamentary sovereignty, Achakzai said Pakistan needs rule of law, not governance through coercion and force.

He concluded by saying that police and security forces belong to the state and the people, not to any individual or government, and stressed that corruption within institutions must end for Pakistan to move forward as a truly democratic and constitutional state.