Achakzai repeats call for national govt

Senior politician and Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ain-e-Pakistan (TTAP) chief Mahmood Achakzai repeated on Wednesday his call for the establishment of a national government in the country and urged all parties to sign a public interest charter.

Addressing a press conference during a visit to the Central Secretariat of the Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) in Islamabad, Achakzai, also the chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) underscored the need for rule of law.

"I again propose the formation of a national government. All political parties should sign a public interest charter and all pledge to respect people's mandate and promote tolerance," Achakzai told the joint presser with MWM chief Allama Nasir Abbas Jafari.

He warned that there were people "among us who have been eroding" the country for years. He stressed that efforts were necessary for the establishment of the rule of law and the Constitution in Pakistan.

"Work for the restoration of Constitution in Pakistan, that is why we have founded Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ain-e-Pakistan. "If the purpose of governance is to build mere roads and canals, then the British government was doing it well," he added.

He drew attention towards the plight of the poor masses, saying that there was nothing for the poor people here. They could not live a single day on low wages. He demanded that minimum per-day wages in Punjab should be fixed at Rs2,000.

Reiterating his call for a national government, he said that people should be made witness to the pledge that mandate would be respected, tolerance would be promoted and performance would be the only standard to judge a government.

He Achakzai revealed that after the elections, former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif had offered him to join the government but he humbly declined.

Speaking about the Independence Day, he said that "freedom is the greatest blessing", however, here "we want to rule, but do not devolve powers" to the lower strata. "Pakistan does not face any threat from outside, it is from within," he added.

"We lay the foundations of a new and democratic Pakistan, where everyone gets their right and there should be no sectarianism. Now we should begin a new Pakistan with collective wisdom," he said.

Earlier, MWM chief Allama Jafari said that people getting freedom in real sense would be the fulfilment of the dreams of the founders of Pakistan. "The problems that exist today are because of the absence of the rule of the Constitution and the law," he said.

Pakistan is still not fully independent. There are pain and sufferings because the rule of law is not there," he said, adding: "Until the rule of law prevails and public opinion is respected, the situation cannot improve."