• Opposition leader says ‘system has collapsed’; claims attempts to sideline Imran have failed
• PTI lawmakers slam Maryam over purchase of Rs11bn aircraft as Khawaja Asif defends her, calling criticism ‘misleading’
ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Tuesday proposed the formation of a “national government”, arguing that the country has failed to move forward since the 2024 general election.
Speaking in the National Assembly during a debate on the US-Iran war and recent increases in oil prices, Mr Achakzai stated that the time had passed when they used to blame each other for mistakes, adding: “We will have to move toward a national government.”
The opposition leader, who also heads the Pakhtoonkhwa Mili Awami Party (PkMAP), stressed the need for consensus among politicians on democratic principles, including the supremacy of the Constitution and strengthening Parliament as the central forum for policymaking.
Highlighting what he termed a “serious concern”, Mr Achakzai said several key politicians, including President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, were now advanced in years.
“God forbid, if these four or five people are not around here anymore, the remaining would not be able to do anything,” he said, calling upon all these leaders, including Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, to come to the table to discuss national issues.
He said they would also ask the “establishment” to provide them some space, adding that the country could only move forward through “collective wisdom”.
Maintaining that efforts to “break Imran Khan had failed”, Mr Achakzai warned of resistance if any effort was made to implement “minus Imran” formula.
“Due to our own mistakes, this system is not functional anymore,” claimed Mr Achakzai, who heads the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Aayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP).
“This system has collapsed; whatever happened after the 2024 elections,” he alleged, referring to the PML-N-led coalition government formed after the last general election.
“Shehbaz Sharif is not here; otherwise, I would have spoken to him,” the opposition leader said, while pointing to the prime minister’s empty seat.
He said the practice of putting opponents behind bars and handing them over to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) should end once and for all.
Trump’s ego
Lashing out at US President Donald Trump without naming him, Mr Achakzai said one individual wanted to push the entire world into a war because of his personal ego. He said the US trusted Pakistan and it should take advantage of that.
Mr Achakzai opposed the policy of the forced repatriation of Afghan nationals from the country.
Maryam’s aircraft
The house also witnessed some fireworks when a couple of opposition members in their speeches slammed Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for purchasing a costly aircraft amid calls for austerity measures from the government.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif came for the defence of Ms Nawaz, saying that all the four provincial chief ministers had official aircraft. Terming such allegations as “misleading”, the minister said the Punjab chief minister should not be singled out.
The minister also clarified that the prime minister had not purchased chased any new aircraft and only the existing aircraft had been refurbished. He reminded the opposition PTI members about the frequent use of helicopters by Imran Khan for travelling from the PM House to his Banigala residence.
When the minister took the floor for the clarification, some of the PTI members were seen shouting at him. No one from the treasury benches, however, responded to them.
PTI’s Zain Qureshi later challenged the defence minister’s claim and said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi did not have any aircraft.
“And even if any CM has an aircraft, he will not be having a Rs11 billion Gulfstream jet,” said Mr Qureshi, who is the son of incarcerated PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
He said the aircraft controversy had washed away the goodwill that had been created by Ms Nawaz for herself through Basant celebrations. PTI’s Atif Khan suggested that Ms Nawaz should not at least use her aircraft till reduction in the oil prices. He also asked the prime minister to travel in commercial airlines to show the government’s seriousness in its austerity drive.
Junaid Akbar of the PTI in his hard-hitting speech also castigated Ms Nawaz for purchasing the costly aircraft, stating that on one hand, the government lectured the people to have simplicity and on the other hand, they had purchased an aircraft for Rs11bn. He alleged that the water of the swimming pool for the prime minister was being heated through electricity. Referring to the alleged rigging in the general elections, he said that the people who counted votes were more important than those who polled them. The NA will meet again today (Wednesday) at 5pm.
Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2026