Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai has reiterated his support for democracy in any confrontation between national institutions.
Talking to Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami in his talk show DNA on Channel 24, Achakzai said that Pakistan’s problems and situation was not unique in the world, nor was this the only country in the world which had an army. However, he said the human beings’ collective wisdom had reached the conclusion that democracy and not dictatorship was the only way for a society to progress. He said that only civilian leadership reflecting the will of the people could lead the way to progress and prosperity for its citizens.
“Civil and military bureaucracy as well as the judiciary have run the country into the ground and we, as the citizens, have paid for it dearly,” he said and added that judiciary had turned over a new leaf with strong support from the civil society which was a very welcome development. “The role of democracy and civilians is of key importance in governing the country, tackling the existential threats it faces and making it a respected member of the comity of nations,” Achakzai said.
Sidestepping a question of whether there were any forces in or out of the parliament that wanted to sabotage the democratic process, Achakzai said that an unambiguous message had to be sent to the general public that there would be no countervailing of justice at any level for the people of the country.
“We have to make people believe that no one will persecute a fellow citizen, no sect or creed will oppress another, that no interest will try to dominate the other,” he said.
Achakzai decried the lack of justice in the country and resentment among the smaller provinces.
“You have to tell the Baloch people that they are entitled to resources produced in their own province,” he said and added that the situation had improved from what it was a few years ago but there was still a long way to go.
So long as there is injustice and outside groups occupy resources in your community, there will be resentment among the masses, he said.
Talking about the PML-N government’s policies to address unrest and dissatisfaction in the people, he said that while the policies had been a step in the right direction, even Nawaz Sharif did not have the full support of his PML-N colleagues, most of which had simply acquiesced under the weight of Nawaz Sharif’s will. Asked if Sharif really was to the left of most of his party, he said that that was not the case.
“Sharif has simply learned through experience that the country’s continued survival depends on the existence of a transparent parliamentary system to address the concerns of its various people including Sindhis, Balochis and Pashtuns.”
Achakzai stressed the need for good governance and indiscriminate dispensation of justice in all matters. He also called for a policy of non-intervention and peaceful co-existence with the neighbouring countries.
Achakzai welcomed the statement of the chief justice that all state institutions should operate within the constitutionally mandated limits.
He said that the army was overstepping the constitutional limits and pointed to the country’s foreign policy which he said had become the sole purview of the army leadership.
“The origin of power must be the elected parliament of Pakistan,” he asserted.
“What is our policy in Afghanistan, or in India, or in Iran? All these matters should be debated in the parliament,” he said and asked how it was possible that the entire nation was in indolent slumber as a war raged on in the country.
He said that the army was already stretched thin fighting in the tribal areas, Karachi and Balochistan and called for a change in direction through deliberations among all stakeholders including the civil society, parliament, judiciary and army so that the country could be brought back from the brink of anarchy.
