Opp for independent foreign policy
Political leaders, including Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aain Pakistan head Mahmood Khan Achakzai, BNP-M Sardar Akhtar Mengal, NP Secretary General Kabir Muhammad, ANP Balochistan president Asghar Khan Achakzai, PTI Balochistan president Dawood Shah Kakar, and MWM Allama Vilayat Hussain Jafari held a press conference in Quetta on Thursday. PHOTO: EXPRESS
A national conference organised by the opposition Tehreek Tahaffuz Ain Pakistan (TTAP) and the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party called on Pakistan to adopt a clear, independent and principled stance on Gaza and other global conflicts, urging the government to realign its foreign policy away from Western influence.
The conference, held at the Lahore High Court, was attended by Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, and Haqooq-e-Khalq Party leader Ammar Ali Jan, along with political activists and civil society representatives.
A joint communique issued after the conference demanded Pakistan's immediate withdrawal from the US-backed "Board of Peace" on Gaza, declaring it incompatible with the country's moral and political position on Palestine.
The communique called on the government to actively support the Palestinian people and involve parliament, political parties and mass movements in a national debate on Palestine, particularly in the context of what it termed American imperialism and the policies of US President Donald Trump.
The statement also urged Pakistan to support the formation of a Global South bloccomprising countries from Asia, Africa and Latin Americato lead the international struggle for freedom and justice for Palestine.
Calling for a foreign policy based on mutual respect and cooperation, the conference rejected alignment with any single global power. It condemned threats issued by Trump against Iran and rejected all forms of imperial interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
The conference expressed solidarity with Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia and other countries in Latin America and Africa. It rejected "the imposition of war and division in the region", warning that such policies — linked to a US strategy to encircle China — would destabilise the region and undermine peace.
Concluding its demands, the conference called for a genuinely non-aligned foreign policy for Pakistan, rooted in regional peace, rejecting the role of a Western proxy, and reflecting the aspirations of oppressed peoples worldwide.
Earlier, addressing the gathering, Senator Mushtaq launched a scathing critique of global powers, Pakistan's political elite and what he termed the "hypocrisy in the name of peace".