Daily Times

SWAT: The constitution is not only a shred of the paper a social contract between the federation and federating units and citizens and the state. Under the constitution, an elected parliament should have monopoly over formulating policies of the federation, said Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman, said on Sunday.

He was addressing a public gathering in Khwazakhella, Swat. Achakzai warned that Pakistan faced serious internal and external problems and establishment alone could not pull the country out of the current crisis without taking people and parliament on board. “Therefore, every institution should function in its constitutionally specified ambit and deviation by any institution from the constitutional path can further pushed the country into the quagmire,” Achakzai said.

“So far, countless political workers have died and suffered just for violation of ‘Section 144’ for no dictator had been taken to task for the violation of the constitution,” Achakzai said.

He said that without peace and stability in Afghanistan and cordial relations with India, any hope of peace and prosperity in the region, particularly in Pakistan would remain a dream. “The success of CPEC or any other developmental and investment plan depend on the peace and stability of the region,” Achakzai said.

While referring the ongoing political mechanization, Achakzai said that leaders could only be produced by the masses.

He strongly condemned the terrorist attack on church in Quetta and offered condolences for the victims and expressed solidarity with them. Achakzai further reiterated that PkMAP condemned terrorism in its all manifestation and forms and emphasised that terrorism could not be defeated without the support of people and their voice in war on terror. Achakzai called it misleading to associate terrorism and extremism with the Pakhtuns. He proposed international conference on the issue to determine the causes and factors of terrorism and extremism with historical references.

Achakzai said that apart from religious, cultural and ethnic relations, humanity was a common bond among human beings. “Therefore, no creed, culture and language should be discriminated against, but they should be respected equally,” he said. Achakzai maintained that inequality was not a divine rule, but was the outcome of exploitation by the usurpers and powerful. “PkMAP believes in struggle for the due political, economic and cultural rights of Pakhtuns as well as respecting the same rights of other nationalities in the federation of Pakistan,” Achakzai said.

Achakzai reiterated his stance that any decision regarding the future of FATA should be taken with the consent of the people of FATA. He said that in the presence of international treats and commitment regarding the status of FATA, any drastic change could open the Pandora ‘s Box.

Published in Daily Times, December 18^th 2017.