ISLAMABAD (MNN); Mahmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, on Saturday said that the Constitution and the rule of law had been “torn to shreds” in the country and demanded that the sovereignty of Parliament be restored and acknowledged.
He made these remarks while delivering the inaugural address at a two-day national conference titled “Protection of the Consensus Constitution: The Need of the Hour and a Way Forward through Collective Wisdom”, organised by TTAP, an alliance of opposition parties.
Achakzai said it was the responsibility of every conscious citizen to raise their voice against the erosion of constitutional rule. He added that political forces had long hoped that constitutional supremacy would eventually prevail, but those hopes were now diminishing.
Calling for unity, he urged all political parties to rise above narrow political interests, power-sharing considerations and affiliations, and to agree on a collective and consensus-based course of action.
Raising a fundamental question, Achakzai asked whether the country existed for the military or the military for the country, and questioned the justification for constitutional exemptions if the armed forces were subordinate to the state.
Referring to possible talks with the government, he said it must be clear who negotiations would be held with, on what agenda and under what conditions. He stressed that the first step towards dialogue should be the immediate lifting of restrictions on meetings with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan by his family, lawyers and political leaders.
Achakzai said that despite court orders, meetings with Imran Khan were being blocked, while those attempting to meet him were facing violence and criminal cases. He added that no army could win a war or achieve lasting success without the support of its people, and appealed to political parties, civil society and intellectual circles to help steer the country out of its current crisis.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar, addressing the conference, claimed that an undeclared martial law was in place. He said when courts fail to dispense justice and judges cannot protect themselves, the judiciary loses its relevance.
Referring to the recent conviction of Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, Gohar said the entire nation was saddened by the verdicts. He claimed that PTI leadership was being handed lengthy sentences in multiple cases, creating despair among the public, and alleged that verdicts were being delivered in violation of the Constitution and the law.
He said it was evident even to law students that decisions were coming from outside the judicial framework, warning that if pathways to justice were blocked, the masses would eventually find their own way.
The conference was attended by several political leaders, including PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, BNP chief Akhtar Mengal, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Javed Hashmi, Mohsin Dawar, Afrasiab Khattak, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, journalists, lawyers and members of civil society.
