QUETTA(National Times)- Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Sunday said the state must listen to the voice of Pakhtuns and address their constitutional, political, economic and national rights through democratic and constitutional means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe should not be compelled to take our grievances to international forums. No state can be sustainably governed through force, nor can the political consciousness, constitutional rights and resources of its people be permanently controlled through coercion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Achakzai was addressing the opening session of the three-day public jirga of \u2018Southern Pasht\u00adunkhwa\u2019, held under the chairmanship of Nawab Ayaz Khan Jogezai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Pakhtuns were passing through an exceptionally difficult period marked by political uncertainty, economic hardship, insecurity and deprivation of political and economic rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The public jirga had been convened as a representative forum where people from different walks of life and schools of thought could deliberate on their collective challenges and propose solutions through consultation, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Achakzai said the jirga was an old Pakhtun tradition through which collective problems had historically been addressed. The present circumstances demanded a revival of that spirit of political consciousness, consultation and collective responsibility, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Referring to the political and economic situation, he said the prevailing crises could not be accepted as the permanent destiny of any nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said these conditions were the result of political, economic and administrative arrangements created by people and could therefore be changed through political struggle, sound judgement and better governance. At the same time, he said Pakhtuns also needed to critically examine their own shortcomings and internal weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Achakzai said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was endowed with immense natural resources, minerals and strategic importance, but these had too often become a source of hardship and insecurity rather than prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stressed that land and resources belonging to local communities could not be transferred or occupied without their consent and constitutional protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the jirga was not directed against any nation, ethnicity or religion and that Pakhtuns believed in equality, coexistence and respect for all people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, he said Pashtun land should not be used as a battleground for wars, proxy conflicts or competing strategic interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expressing concern over the security situation in Pakhtun-majority areas of Balochistan, Mr Achakzai referred to the bombing of a police station in Saranan and the killing of labourers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the state\u2019s foremost duty was to protect the lives, property and fundamental rights of citizens and warned that failure to do so would deepen insecurity, mistrust and alienation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Achakzai also expressed concern over the allocation and transfer of land belonging to local communities and tribes to non-local individuals, institutions and companies, stressing that such matters should be addressed through constitutional safeguards, transparency and consent of the affected communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding relations between Bal\u00adoch and Pakhtun communities, he said the Baloch were their brothers and that the province should be governed on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and partnership among its constituent peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that Pakhtuns were ready to accommodate Hazara and other urban communities of Quetta within their share in the province through a fair political and administrative framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Afghanistan, Mr Achakzai said the country continued to be viewed largely through a security lens in regional forums, including the Shanghai Cooperation Orga\u00adnisation, without adequate representation of the Afghan people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that attributing the region\u2019s security challenges solely to Afghanistan ignored the historical context of decades of conflict, including interventions and proxy rivalries involving major and regional powers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Achakzai said powers and proxies involved in the Cold War bore historical responsibility for Afghanistan\u2019s destruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
QUETTA(National Times)- Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Sunday said the state must listen to the voice of Pakhtuns and address their constitutional, political, economic and national rights through democratic and constitutional means. \u201cWe should not be compelled to take our grievances […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n