Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai on Wednesday said the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an opposition alliance seeking fresh elections, will ramp up efforts to fight “unconstitutional and undemocratic forces.”
Speaking with journalists at the end of the first day of the two-day Grand Alliance Conference in Islamabad, he said the “sacred battle” would continue in a “democratic” manner. Apart from Achakzai, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Awam Pakistan’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s (MWM) Nasir Shirazi and various journalists and human rights activists attended the gathering.
Reiterating accusations of the government “threatening” an Islamabad hotel to deny the opposition a venue for its event, Abbasi claimed it showed the government’s fear over a single conference. “There was nothing which was against any matter of the state or any talk of incitement,” he said. “Just talks on the Constitution and the rule of law,” he said, while criticizing the Punjab government for spending “billions” on an advertising supplement.
“The hotel administration told us that they were threatened to revoke the permission for the second day of the moot. When we asked the administration to give us in writing why the conference could not be held for the above reason, they expressed their helplessness,” he said.
Despite the attempts at denying them space, he said the alliance has decided the conference will proceed regardless of hurdles. “This is our constitutional right and we are talking about the Constitution,” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub condemned the lack of rule of law in the country. He said the first day had seen speakers discuss various means to strengthen the country. “We are talking to strengthen the country and here the hotel administration came to us and expressed their desperation that they are under pressure,” he claimed.
First day’s talks
During the event, Achakzai lamented that the benefits of independence had not reached the grassroots level, leaving citizens deprived of their due share in decision-making. Regretting that demanding rights often resulted in baseless accusations, he recalled that he had been imprisoned countless times but had never stood against the state of Pakistan.
Referring to the Feb. 8 general elections, the TTAP chief described the polls as an unprecedented violation of constitutional principles. “We seek the right to govern in this country, and that right can only be achieved through the supremacy of the Constitution,” he said and urged all those gathered to remember individuals whose sacrifices had paved the way for political power.
In his address, Abbasi criticized the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for allegedly imposing restrictions on the conference. Questioning why the authorities had failed to end political instability in the country, he maintained that nations cannot function when political parties abandon their principles.
Condemning laws aimed suppressing voices, an apparent reference to the PECA amendments, he voiced concern over the rule of law. “It is unfortunate that even speaking out has become difficult,” he said, emphasizing that the country could only progress if it respected democracy and public opinion.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) President Afzal Butt also addressed the occasion, accusing political parties of advocating for press freedom while in opposition but suppressing the media once in power. He urged the current opposition parties to pledge not to repeat this pattern.