The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance on Wednesday announced an intent to convene a multi-party conference in the coming weeks to debate the deteriorating situation in Balochistan.
Chaired by PkMAP leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai, the meeting also demanded a sitting of Parliament to discuss the situation in Balochistan and urged the government to share with the opposition the details of a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan held in Quetta last week.
Held at the residence of PTI’s Sardar Latif Khosa, the meeting was also attended by Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub Khan and PTI’s Zain Qureshi and Asad Qaiser; BNP-Mengal’s Sajid Tareen; and several other opposition leaders.
Speaking with media after the meeting, Qaiser said all participants had expressed concern over the situation in Balochistan. He said the opposition parties had constituted a committee, headed by Sahibzada Hamid Raza, to convene the MPC.
“We will hold a meeting with the National Assembly speaker and try to convince him to hold a sitting on the situation of the province,” he said, adding the MPC would aim to ensure the concerns of the Baloch were addressed.
Lamenting that the government had not paid heed to concerns about Balochistan in Parliament, he claimed this had led to BNP-M chief Akhtar Mengal announcing his resignation from the National Assembly. “It is unfortunate that political actors are being disappointed by Parliament. If this continues, there will be no benefit to Parliament,” he said, warning “enemies” could take advantage of this situation.
Qaiser and Khosa also hit out recent legislations passed by the government, claiming that authorities were more concerned about constitutional amendments than curtailing inflation.
To a question, Khosa asserted that the PTI would stage a massive rally in Islamabad on Sept. 22, whether or not it was permitted to do so.
TTAP chief Achakzai, meanwhile, said it was encouraging that all parties believed in the supremacy of law. “So we have decided to discuss the situation with all opposition parties and then call [the MPC]. The committee will start working from Thursday (today). If our demands would not be met, we will be left with no option but to hold countrywide protests,” he said, adding Qaiser had been tasked with meeting Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to request a session on the Balochistan situation.