Pakistan is going through a critical phase where the Constitution stands virtually suspended, and the fundamental rights and resources of the provinces have been seized – Achakzai
Islamabad
Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Chairman of the Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party and head of the Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aain Pakistan (Movement for the Protection of the Constitution of Pakistan), has said that Pakistan is going through a critical phase where the Constitution stands virtually suspended, and the fundamental rights and resources of the provinces have been seized.
“The country’s Constitution is no longer functional. The natural resources of the federating nations have been taken over. A long, peaceful, and powerful democratic movement is the need of the hour,” he said while talking to a delegation of Awami Tahreek, led by its central president Advocate Vasand Thari, who met him at his residence here on Sunday.
The two sides held detailed discussions on the country’s worsening political situation.
Achakzai said that the people of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are ready to struggle for their constitutional rights. “Democratic and nationalist parties must rise to the occasion,” he added, asserting that progress, peace, and prosperity can only come when every nation within Pakistan has full control over its natural resources, such as water, land, oil, and minerals. “Sindh’s resources should belong to Sindhis, Balochistan’s to Baloch, Pakhtunkhwa’s to Pakhtuns, and Punjab’s to Punjabis,” Achakzai emphasized.
Advocate Vasand Thari highlighted ongoing peaceful resistance in Sindh against the plunder of its resources, including illegal control over the Indus River, corporate land-grabbing, and the exploitation of the province’s mineral wealth. He accused the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of colluding with federal powers to sell off Sindh’s assets and dismantle constitutional safeguards.
“America has its eye on oil, gas, and mineral reserves across the country, especially in Sindh,” said Thari. “The ruling elite has practically opened an auction house for these resources. While Sindh provides the most oil, gas, and coal to Pakistan, its own people face hunger and deprivation. They’re not even given jobs in oil companies or Thar coal projects. Our youth are being driven to suicide.”
Thari went on to blame PPP’s 17-year rule for widespread corruption, poverty, bad governance, and lawlessness. “Education, healthcare, and development funds worth billions have been eaten away. The people of Sindh are rising against this corrupt rule. Merit is dead. Even a peon’s job or a Grade-17 post is out of reach without bribery,” he added, accusing the PPP of turning the Sindh Public Service Commission into a marketplace for selling government jobs.
He concluded by asserting that only peaceful, democratic, and sovereign movements across all provinces—Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab—can rescue the people from their suffering and restore justice and constitutional order. (PR)
Read: Corruption Devours Pakistan’s Soul
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