Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and head of Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP)) Mehmood Khan Achakzai said on Thursday that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly was the only constitutional assembly, but 'they' did not like it. Speaking to the media outside the Parliament House alongside other opposition leaders, Achakzai remarked that political leaders such as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif had made significant efforts for the sake of democracy.
He said that whenever the assemblies were dissolved in the past, Benazir Bhutto would sometimes travel to another country taking her children along, while Nawaz Sharif would head to London. He noted that Article 58(2)(b) - which had already consumed five assemblies - was abolished in a single day.
Through the efforts of these political leaders, he noted, the Charter of Democracy was thrashed out and signed in London. The same two parties, he pointed out, which were instrumental in the emergence of the charter, had voted for the emergency and governor's rule in KP.
The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) leader claimed that the manner in which the 2024 elections were conducted is evident to everyone. He reiterated that the KP Assembly was the only constitutional assembly, yet it was not to "their" liking.
Achakzai mentioned that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had also indicated that several matters had been settled; they had advocated for strengthening parliament. Achakzai recalled that Maulana Fazl's candidate received 30,000 of "our" votes, while he himself was deprived of four seats.
He emphasized that the current political climate requires a strict adherence to the constitution to ensure stability. On this occasion, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) Vice-Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that the imposition of governor's rule or emergency was effectively the same as martial law.
He recalled that on October 12, a party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) holding a two-thirds majority was ousted from power. He added that the events of October 11 were orchestrated by the very same people who were lamenting the events of October 12.
The opposition leaders collectively demanded that the sanctity of the vote and the constitutional mandate of the provincial assembly must be respected by all state institutions to avoid further political turmoil in the country.