LAHORE: Head of Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen Pakistan (Movement for Protection of Constitution of Pakistan), Mahmood Khan Achakzai, has said there will now be no compromise whatsoever on Pakistan’s national interests.
Speaking at a press conference, flanked by Senator Raja Abbas and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Achakzai said he was not naive enough to disclose any backdoor contacts before the media. However, he emphasized when it comes to Pakistan’s interests, he would never make any compromise.
He said the recent constitutional amendments were made with the support of smaller provinces as well, making them complicit in what he described as a “sin”, for which forgiveness should be sought.
Responding to a question, Achakzai said Pakistan belongs to its people and that a country cannot survive without an army or intelligence agencies. Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence agencies must function within the same constitutional boundaries as armed forces in other countries. Every institution, he stressed, must operate within its constitutional limits.
He said Pakistan’s armed forces are losing an average of 60 soldiers every month, amounting to around 1,800 personnel annually. “Can we afford to keep killing each other?” he asked.
Injustice, he said, is the root cause of divisions in society and must now come to an end. The real security threat is anyone who damages the Constitution, he added.
Mahmood Achakzai said Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiyeen Pakistan was formed at a time when the Constitution had not yet been attacked and was still intact. He said political leaders realised governments based on wealth and power would distort the Constitution, which is why the movement was established.
He urged the public to support the movement through collective wisdom and said the country must be pulled out of its crisis through a shared national effort. Achakzai said at the time of Pakistan’s creation, there was deep love for the country, but there was no clear demand for a Constitution. “From independence until 1971, and even afterward, new laws continued to be introduced,” he said. He said the forces bent on destroying the country are not even sparing the Constitution.
Pakistan’s crises, he said, are greater than individuals and are internal in nature, for which the people themselves bear responsibility.
Referring to India, he said poverty is widespread there, the population runs into billions, and many people live in extreme deprivation. Yet, when Indira Gandhi amended the Constitution, the people rejected her and voted her out of power, demonstrating their political maturity.
Achakzai said Pakistan cannot afford repeated elections and proposed convening a national conference comprising judges, military leadership and economic experts to set clear rules.
