ZHOB -UNS : Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mahmood Khan Achakzai has said that meaningful negotiations between the government and opposition are impossible without a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan.
Addressing a large public rally at Baz Muhammad Shaheed Ground in Zhob on the anniversary of the October 7, 1983, martyrs of democracy, Achakzai said political leaders on both sides had the right to consult their leadership during negotiations.
He said that the situation reached such a pass where Sohail Afridi now had no option but to move forward.
He declared that he would not participate in talks until he was allowed to meet Imran Khan.
“Why is the government afraid of our meeting with Imran Khan?” he asked, adding that PTI and opposition leaders had placed their trust in him and he would make every effort to honour it while continuing to distinguish between right and wrong.
Achakzai warned that imposing governor’s rule or emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would have serious political consequences.
He said that if governor’s rule was imposed, his party would announce “people’s rule” and launch protests across the province.
He also questioned the legitimacy of the government, alleging that Imran Khan’s electoral mandate had been taken away through force and money. He urged political forces to agree on a minimum national agenda for the future of the country’s 250 million people.
Recalling the October 7, 1983, protests against Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law, Achakzai paid tribute to those killed, injured and arrested during the movement.
He also called for constitutional appointments to the Election Commission, unity among Pashtuns, and recognition of political leaders, judges and workers who resisted martial law as national heroes.
Welcoming the statement on Afghanistan by the Russian foreign minister on the occasion of the 18th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, he said that the powers that intervened in Afghanistan and their allies owed a debt to Afghanistan.
The Opposition leader said that it was their responsibility to fulfill their obligations for Afghanistan’s stability, development, and prosperity.
