QUETTA: Chairman of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Mehmood Khan Achakzai has said that holding new elections, ensuring supremacy of parliament and non-interference by the establishment in political affairs of the country were some of the steps, which should be immediately taken to resolve the crises being faced by the country.

Talking to journalists at the central secretariat of his party on Wednesday, Mr Achakzai said the recently formed parliamentary committee, headed by National Assembly speaker, could play a role in paving the way for fresh elections in the country.

Mr Achakzai who also heads the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) — an alliance of opposition parties — said that mistakes were committed in the past which resulted in serious crises that harmed the country, including the separate of East Pakistan. “But we still have not learned lesson and continue to commit mistakes, which are worsening the situation in the country,” he said.

Referring to the proposed amendments to the constitution, the government wants to be passed by the parliament, the PkMAP chief said that constitution was a social contract meant to protect rights of every citizen of a country and in order to run the country smoothly, necessary amendments should be made in it keeping the people’s interests and their requirements and these should be made through consensus of representatives of the people in the parliament with two-thirds majority.

He said that assemblies established in the country on the basis of Form 45 and 47 were not representative of the people as the people know how these assemblies have been formed.

“We have to block the way of bringing people together in parliament on the desires of the people sitting in some powerful institutions of the country,” Mr Achakzai said.

‘Fazl to face political loss if he backs amendments’

In reply to a question about JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Mr Achakzai said Maulana Fazl was a seasoned politician who plays his role very well. However, the PkMPA was of the opinion if the Maulana accepted the proposed amendments to the constitution in their original shape, the JUI-F chief would suffer a political loss.

In response to yet another question, he said the recently-formed parliamentary committee of the National Assembly having representation of all political parties, could take steps for paving the way for holding free, fair and transparent elections in the country.

He said that all political parties and stakeholders should sit together and find out a solution to the crisis being faced by the country.

“A roundtable conference of all stakeholders is the need of the hour to decide how to run the country in a better way, in which the right of the people should be accepted to elect their representatives without any interference by any institution of the country,” he said, adding that all institutions must work within their jurisdictions.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2024