QUETTA: Pakhtun ideologue, writer, journalist and nationalist leader Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai was remembered at a condolence meeting at Science College Quetta on Tuesday evening.

The nationalist leader was killed in a bomb attack in Jamaluddin Afghani road area of Quetta on December 2 1973. Since then, Achakzai’s killers have been at large.

The meeting was organised by the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), whose leaders vowed to follow the political principles of their founder and to defend democratic institutions of the country.

“Khan Shaheed always stood for democracy and parliament,” Usman Khan Kakar, the provincial president of PKMAP told the gathering.

The late Khan spent over 30 years behind bars in his 66-year life to uphold the banner of justice and democracy. Despite repeated incarceration during the British Raj, Khan always demanded that the colonialists should quit the Sub-Continent.

“Khan raised his voice for the voiceless people of the society,” Senator Abdul Rauf Khan of PKMAP told Dawn.com.

The condolence meeting was attended by scores of political workers, writers, journalists and people from different walks of life. The speakers urged upon the people to benefit from the political principles and ideology of Khan Shaheed.

“Khan served the people irrespective of caste, creed, color or religion,” said Senator Lala.

Despite the odds, Khan managed to get his Istiqlal (Independence) newspaper published from Quetta in 1935. He was considered to be the pioneer of journalism in Balochistan province, which covers half of the country in terms of geographical area.

“None can ignore his struggle for the freedom of expression,” Information Minister Rahim Ziaratwal said.

In the early days of his politics, Achakzai challenged the colonial rulers and, for the same reason, was sent to jail repeatedly during the British Raj. “Khan challenged an established perception of toeing the line of the rulers,” Senator Lala said.

Usman Kakar said that besides Pakhtuns, Khan Shaheed also raised his voice for the rights of minorities in the country. Achakzai always advocated equal rights for all nationalities living in the country and called for supremacy of parliament and the constitution.

PKMAP leaders at the public meeting vowed not to bow down before any unconstitutional powers and expressed the determination to defend democratic institutions.

They demanded of the political forces to bury the hatchet and put their heads together for a sustainable democratic system. “Now the time has come to get benefit from the political principles of Khan Shaheed,” Nawab Ayaz Jogezai, another PKMAP legislator told the condolence meeting.

The PKMAP leader argued that Pakistan cannot afford any unconstitutional move rather democracy was the binding factor for stability of the country.