KARACHI, March 7: The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement Central President Mahmoud Khan Achakzai has warned that the on going crisis in the country is far more serious and graver than 1971 and any attempt to hold stage managed elections would push Pakistan into a terrible storm.
Mr Achakzai, who was the guest speaker at “Meet the Press Programme” of Karachi Press Club, stressed the need for sending the army back to the barracks and get the representatives of civil society including all national leaders, intellectuals, teachers and others to sit together, accept their past blunders and formulate strategy to resolve the looming crisis.
He said the situation was beyond the control of General Pervez Musharraf, Chaudhry Shujaat, Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Jam Yusuf to take the country out of the deepening crisis.
Mr Achakzai recalled that the outcome of 1971 elections was the result of repression of people which led to the break up the country and the 1977 elections were again the outcome of the oppressive rule and engineered results could not come to rescue Bhutto from the gallows. “There is no more Himatyar in Afghanistan but his elders are with the Musharraf government, Pakistan has turned into a sanctuary for terrorists,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said the Pakhtoons would never accept Kalabagh Dam nor agree to any decision against the will of the people. Any attempt to implement the project by force would result in irreparable loss to Pakistan
To another question he said fair, free and transparent elections could not be held in the present set up and election commission and called for the setting up of a caretaker government headed by a Supreme Court judge who had not taken oath under the PCO. He also demanded an independent election commission be set up to conduct the elections, and the role of the army and government’s secret agencies be eliminated, only then could fair elections be held.
In reply to another question, he said the Pakhtoons were neither sectarian nor terrorists and did not support the Taliban. He said treating women as toys or taking them in the name of liberation towards destruction was a dangerous game which deserved condemnation.
He said all small nationalities including Pakhtoons want their constitutional and legal rights and to live in Pakistan as equal partners but not subservient to the Punjab’s domination and they would continue their struggle to attain their rights.
When asked about Ponam’s participation in multi-party conference being organised by Nawaz Sharif in London, he said they had received the invitation and would participate in the conference.
