KARACHI: Achakzai slams army intervention in politics
By Ali Hazrat Bacha
KARACHI, May 22: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai has strongly opposed the role of the military and agencies in the country’s politics and warned that if the interference of army generals is not stopped, increasing unrest among the masses would lead to the disintegration of the country.
Speaking to lawyers at the Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall of the City Courts on Tuesday, the PMAP chief said that army generals had ruled the country for the maximum period since its creation and adopted divisive policies.
He said during the prolonged rule of another army general the people were given the ‘gifts’ of heroin and Kalashnikov culture, adding that Pervez Musharraf was also following in the footsteps of his uniformed predecessors.
The PMAP chief condemned the May 12 bloodshed and termed the incidents extremely dangerous for the country’s solidarity.
He said if Karachi was in Pakistan then all peoples, irrespective of their language, colour, political affiliation and religion, had the right to live here. He condemned those creating hatred on the basis of religion, language and colour.
He asked the government not to turn Karachi into a second Lebanon where, he said, a dividing line had been drawn between various communities. He said those who drew the line for others would themselves be unable to live in peace.
He said the use of weapons was not a solution to problems and creating hurdles for public rallies was uncivilised, adding that these methods would cause more serious problems.
Commenting on the judicial crisis, he said the role of the judiciary in the country was not that good, but the way Pervez Musharraf had dealt with the chief justice was extremely condemnable, which was why his party had observed a strike against the presidential reference.
He said all the pillars of the state should play a positive role without affecting the others. He appreciated the lawyers’ struggle for the judiciary’s independence and assured them of his party’s support.
He said the former USSR and Yugoslavia were more developed than Pakistan, but the federating units had not been given due attention and the people had been deprived of their democratic rights, which resulted in the disintegration of the countries.
He urged the politicians to come forward and form a “muttahida mahaz” to force the military regime to hold free, fair and impartial elections. He said that the chief election commissioner must be a judge who did not take an oath under the provisional constitutional order. Criticising Gen Musharraf for overthrowing an elected government in 1999, he said that all those who had supported the president in the past or were favouring him now were liable to be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution, which was applied to those guilty of high treason.
Mr Achakzai said that Gen Musharraf had hollowed the foundations of the country by using the armed forces against their countrymen, uprooting the judiciary and creating hatred among the people, but he could still not become a favourite of those he was obeying.
Despite being one of the frontline states against terrorism Pakistan was still accused of selling uranium, providing shelter to terrorists and interfering in the affairs of neighbouring countries, he said, adding that it was the right time for the military generals to march back to the barracks and let the politicians do their job.
KARACHI, May 22: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai has strongly opposed the role of the military and agencies in the country’s politics and warned that if the interference of army generals is not stopped, increasing unrest among the masses would lead to the disintegration of the country.
