“Minus Imran Khan Formula Is a Path to Ruin for the Country; Long March Will Continue Until the Undemocratic Government Is Toppled”: Mahmood Khan Achakzai
Quetta + Islamabad (Daily Qudrat) – Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman, head of the Movement for the Protection of the Constitution of Pakistan, and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, while giving an interview to a private TV channel, has taken the strongest possible position on the country’s current political situation. In unequivocal terms, he said that those dreaming of the “minus Imran Khan” formula are pushing Pakistan toward the path of destruction. He announced that the long march will not stop until this undemocratic government is completely eliminated.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that democratic protest is the fundamental right of the people, and millions of the country’s people must come out on the streets to obtain their snatched rights. He stressed that the reconstruction of a new democratic Pakistan has become inevitable, and its foundation can only be laid on respect for the Constitution. He urged the country’s political leadership, including Mian Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asif Ali Zardari, the People’s Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and ANP, to unite on minimum points. He said that all of us political people must collectively give a clear message to the powerful circles that political decisions are the right of politicians, and along with this, the judiciary and media must be freed from all kinds of pressure.
Criticizing politicians as well, the Leader of the Opposition said that political parties weakened Parliament with their own votes and, going against the Constitution, tied their own hands. He warned that no system can run in an environment of injustice; injustices give birth to hatreds, and when millions of poor people come out in a long march, then no one will be able to control them. He said that those occupying power should themselves repent and guarantee democracy for the future. Pakistan is the owner of immense resources, but due to wrong policies, today we are forced to beg from the world. Threats will not work; the people must be included in the right to rule, and powers must be transferred to the lower level.
Speaking about Imran Khan, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that although he has not met Imran Khan for years, he is firmly convinced that Imran Khan can be persuaded to forget the bitterness of the past and move forward in the larger interest of the country. He assured that we will not take revenge on anyone, but in return, the despicable practice of pushing political people to the wall and discrediting politics must now stop. Strongly criticizing the role of secret agencies, he said that unfortunately, our agencies, whose responsibilities were of an international level, have been put to the task of producing fake politicians. Politicians are never invented; they are not made in factories, but a true politician is born from among the people and from the politics of the streets and alleys. He requested the powerful circles to abandon this approach and devote their energies to compiling records of corrupt elements.
Regarding Imran Khan’s popularity, he said that Imran Khan has reached such a level of popularity that whenever transparent elections are held, he will sweep across all of Pakistan. The people will not care who the candidate is; they will vote only in the name of Imran Khan. He made clear that if any such thinking is being nurtured that the system will run after “minus Imran Khan,” then it is a dangerous path and a path to ruin for Pakistan. When you isolate and harass someone, especially when he is in the right, and try to break him, the results are disastrous.
Reacting strongly to the arrests of Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Bibi and PTI leaders, he asked what is the justification for arresting Imran Khan’s sisters? Is this not a deliberate attempt to provoke the public? He asked the powerful circles why they are afraid of their own people. An unknown armed group’s raid on an elected member of the assembly in Peshawar and then registering an FIR against him instead — what kind of justice is this? He warned that by attacking the constitutional and elected provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, do you want to push the country toward civil war?
Speaking about the Election Commission, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that two and a half years have passed since this government was established, and it is an unconstitutional government. He proposed that why do we not all sit together and agree on new and transparent elections? A new Election Commission should be formed and immediate elections should be held. He said that I had written a letter to fulfill the constitutional responsibility regarding the Election Commission, and a meeting can be held anywhere, but this is a constitutional duty that must be performed in any case.
At the end of the interview, he said that our elders endured the hardships of imprisonment for the Constitution and democracy, but those who divided the country by their arbitrary actions have never told the nation the truth. He also demanded a ban on ever-green political families who remain part of every era of government. He described PTI’s September 27 long march as the beginning of a movement that will continue until the undemocratic government is toppled. He made clear that we are not going to abuse anyone or throw stones, but this is our constitutional right that cannot be suppressed. Imran Khan has been kept in jail in a completely unconstitutional manner, and we will continue our democratic struggle against it.
