Outrage: Elahi demands case against Achakzai

PML-Q leader criticises govt silence over Achakzai’s remarks

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Quaid) senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday demanded that a treason case be registered against Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chairman Mahmud Khan Achakzai.

He was addressing a press conference along with party leaders Mian Muhammad Munir and Azeemuddin Lakhvi at his residence.

“Achakzai, an ally of Nawaz Sharif, has violated the Constitution and his National Assembly oath by talking against the security and solidarity of Pakistan. Action should be taken against him under Article 6 of the Constitution,” he said.

He said that Pakistan had helped the Afghan people in every crisis. “Pakistan has been hosting three million Afghan refugees for the past 37 years. Achakzai’s statement amounts to treason. He has betrayed the people who laid down their lives for the liberation of Afghanistan,” Elahi said.

He said that Achakzai had also criticised the Pakistani security agencies after the Pathankot attack.

“The Pak-Afghan international border is recognised by the world. The UN also declared Afghans, who had migrated to Pakistan after Russian invasion, as refugees,” he said.

Elahi also showed to the media copies of the oaths taken by Mahmud Khan Achakzai as MNA and his brother Muhammad Khan Achakzai as the Balochistan governor.

“He swore to bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan and always work for security, solidarity and prosperity of Pakistan. Achakzai’s statement that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belongs to Afghans is a clear violation of the country’s sovereignty. Achakzai is trying to please New Delhi and Kabul with his statements,” he said.

Elahi said that the government’s silence over Achakzai’s statement was condemnable. “His (Mahmud Achakzai’s) statement is in line with the PML-N’s mindset. This government lodged an FIR in Gujranwala after the Pathankot attack without any evidence,” he said. “The Durand Line has been the international border since 1893. The international community recognises it,” Elahi said.

Elahi expressed grief over loss of lives and property due to floods in Chitral.

On Thursday, PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai had said that his statement about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) ‘belonging to the Afghans’ was taken out of context by critics.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2016.