Elected Parliament Is the True Source of Power; All Domestic and Foreign Policies Should Be Formulated in the House: Mahmood Khan Achakzai
PESHAWAR/QUETTA – Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman, Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aaeen Pakistan head, and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai has said that negotiations will be held on the basis that the elected parliament is the source of power, and all domestic and foreign policies will be formulated in the elected parliament. He said the first right to the resources Allah has granted to the Pashtun homeland should be recognized as belonging to its people. Similarly, the first right to the blessings Allah has created in the Baloch homeland should belong to the people of Balochistan and their children. The same principle applies to Punjab and Sindh. The Pakistan Armed Forces, like other armies of the world, should perform their duties within the framework defined by the constitution. Every institution, whether the judiciary, journalism, or politics, should do its own work, but constitutional supremacy must be established and all policies must be made through a truly elected parliament.
He expressed these views while talking to journalists along with Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aaeen Pakistan Vice Chairman and Opposition Leader in the Senate Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Vice Chairman and Balochistan National Party head Akhtar Jan Mengal, Vice Chairman and Sindh United Party head Syed Zain Shah, and other leaders and members of the movement.
The opposition leader said that to express solidarity with the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they have decided to challenge this decision in court as well. “This is a cruel, unconstitutional, illegal, and un-Islamic step. All of this has been done on the basis of hooliganism. Whatever excuses they make, that is their choice. We and all the people of Peshawar and the entire Pashtunkhwa, whether from Hazara or Gilgit-Baltistan, all know how the elections were held. In these recent elections, the 2024 elections, power was seized by terrorizing 240 million people, by the force of the gun and money. The world knows, God knows, that Imran Khan’s party had won these elections. To punish this crime, the government went so far as to take away PTI’s symbol through the court. Restrictions were also imposed on the party. Despite this, PTI’s young workers performed wonders in the elections. At least in this province, none of their tactics worked. In the rest of Pakistan, entirely on the basis of force and money, by giving millions of rupees to individuals, assemblies were bought. PTI had more than 97 members in the assembly.”
He said PTI had more than 97 members in the assembly, and within three to four months they were reduced from 97 to 74 or 75. Gohar Ayub’s son was removed, so-and-so was removed, elderly women were given 50, 50 years in prison, 60, 60 years in prison. A killer’s sentence is 20 years. If a person commits murder and is not hanged, his sentence is 20 years. Here poor elderly women and men of my age are lying in prisons. Their only sin is that they won the election, and the government of the day does not accept their election. In this connection, we have come to express solidarity with you. This is not the time to sit idle; this is the time to save the right to vote. The issue is that they have decided to seize the blessings Allah has given us in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and FATA, and they want to loot them purely by the force of the gun. No one has committed any sin — neither has anyone in Waziristan committed any sin, nor has anyone in Bajaur committed any sin. In the manner in which FATA was merged — I was sitting in the assembly, and there was nothing written on the assembly forum that FATA was being merged, nor was it in the program; the speaker came and announced that yes, it has been decided that FATA will be merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We had opposed the manner in which it was merged.
The opposition leader said that these emergencies imposed in such-and-such district are unconstitutional, illegal, wrong, and improper. “We have decided that we will not raise the gun, we will not hurl abuses at anyone’s parents, and we will not throw stones at anyone — but this is our firm decision.” Akhtar Jan Mengal is the son of Sardar Attaullah Khan Mengal and has his own party; this is his secretary, the grandson of Syed Sahib, who also has his own party. Allama Sahib and all of us are part of Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aaeen Pakistan, which is our joint party.
He said problems are arising because it is being said that these people are opposing. “We are ready for negotiations — Bismillah, Allahu Akbar! Come, let us negotiate.”
Regarding Imran Khan, he said that throughout the world, from America to Zimbabwe, there is no such restriction on any prisoner’s meetings anywhere. Whether someone is the worst killer, robber, adulterer, or drug dealer, their lawyer, parents, friends, and colleagues are allowed to meet them, but this restriction has been imposed on Imran Khan. Further injustice is that he is being forced to make a deal in prison, and forcing any prisoner to make a deal is a criminal act. In the past, exactly this treatment was meted out to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Attock Jail, when he was handcuffed, put on a plane, and sent to Saudi Arabia for ten years. The same happened with Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. But look at the misfortune — today Mian Sahib’s and Benazir’s parties are attacking the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the same manner as the snake that once bit them. This was the only government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formed by the power of the people, and this is what irked them, which is why they attacked it.
He said that today Mian Sahib’s and Benazir’s party, in the same manner as the snake that had bitten them, has attacked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This was the only government formed by the power of the people. This irked them and they had to attack it in some way or the other, which they have done. “We have come to express solidarity with your province and your people against this attack; this is our decision. We also appeal to you. The day before yesterday, innocent children were shot at here in Bara — why? Not one, but twelve or thirteen… one child was injured and one child was martyred. Have we produced children so that you can shoot them? There is a verse of the Holy Quran that it is not right to use false language loudly against anyone, except the oppressed, who has this right. You snatch my mandate from me, you deprive me of my rights, and you do not even give me the opportunity to hold rallies and processions. Will you shoot me? Fear God and have mercy on this country. It is good fortune that the people here have not yet decided that we will answer your gun with a gun. The day that decision is made, nothing will remain — nothing will remain, neither Pakistan nor anything else. Have mercy on Pakistan! Even now, withdraw the orders you have issued. You have arrested a chief minister; no one knows about the MNAs and MPAs. Why? Has this homeland become so ownerless that we are not even told where our chief minister is? We are not even told where our MNAs are? We are not even told where our MPAs are? This is our homeland, a shared homeland. Have mercy on this country. Even now, withdraw the orders you have issued.”
He said Pashtunkhwa belongs to Pashtuns and its inhabitants. “If you want to run this country, take everyone along — Pashtun, Baloch, Sindhi, and Saraiki. Respect their provincial autonomy in their areas and honor their languages. By doing so, Pakistan will become a great country.”
The opposition leader said “we are a fighting people, but raising a gun against our own people is difficult — but until when?” For example, if gold is found in Waziristan, then Bismillah, slaughter two or four buffaloes, give charity, beat the drum that gold has been found in our area. Give the people of Waziristan their share in it; we will work with you. You sell it to China, America, or Russia — give them their share, give us our share, and we will work for you. About our FATA it was said that it is “No Man’s Land.” This is a joke at the expense of our people. Every stone of the Pashtunkhwa homeland is divided and recognized among tribes and families. Even elderly women know which mountain’s other side is not their tribe’s land and up to which mountain their land’s boundaries extend. Do you want to seize this homeland by the force of the gun? Fear God. Alexander, the Mughals, and the Mongols sank into this land. The graves of the British were made here and they barely managed to get out. Do not let the Pakistan Army meet the fate that America and Russia met here. Have mercy on this country.
He said an unconstitutional and illegal attack has been made on our homeland. “And behind it, the intention is that — who knows — you have sold our mines, minerals, our forests to America. Whoever they are sold to, we say this to them as well — we request America too, America baba, China, America, Russia. We are the owners of this homeland. Any agreement made with anyone without asking us will not be acceptable to us. The minerals of Waziristan belong to the people of Waziristan. The mines and minerals of Khyber belong to the Afridis, Mullagoris, and Shinwaris there. The minerals of Bajaur belong to them. Those of the Baloch homeland belong to the Baloch. Those of the Sindhi homeland belong to the Sindhis. Yes! Build Pakistan. We have come to you only so that you do not consider yourself alone in this struggle. We are with you. We have to strive — on mines, minerals, and waters. The intention is that they want to seize our waters. You know, this big bridge at Khairabad — from here the Abasin flows about 150 miles through the Pashtunkhwa homeland and falls into the Panjnad. All of Khattak, all of Gandapur, all of that Akora Khattak area — such a big river flows, but we are not allowed to take water from it. Khattak is on the bank of the great Abasin but prays for rain — ‘O God, let it rain so that my gram crop sprouts.’ This is oppression. The world’s principle is that the first right to a river, wherever it passes, belongs to its people. Here a system is being built that wants to seize our waters and our resources.”
He said that even today, thousands of people of the Pashtunkhwa homeland are travelers in foreign lands. The world’s cheapest labor is that of the Pashtunkhwa homeland. Perhaps the whole world has decided: send Pashtun laborers to us. We built Dubai, we built Saudi Arabia, we built Karachi, we built Lahore, and we built all of Pakistan’s canals. Despite all this, we are still not considered good Pakistanis. Even today the worst names are given to us: heroin dealer, killer, child abductor, and so on. All these things demand that we unite as one country and one homeland. Whichever party you are in, long live. If you are in the Muslim League, the Muslim League flag is flying on every street. If you are in the People’s Party, its flag is flying. If you are in PTI, Bismillah. But we are inhabitants of one homeland. Our honor, and God forbid our dishonor, is linked to the honor of this homeland. If this homeland is honorable, every party will be honorable. If we are empowered in this homeland, we will all be honorable. If that does not happen, we will be travelers and laborers for the whole world.
