Photo courtesy X
The opposition parties—Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sunni Ittehad Council, Jamaat-e-Islami, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party and other smaller groups—on Tuesday announced a joint struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution and restoration of democracy.
Evoking the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) that was formed by the opposition parties of the PTI-led government, the parties criticized the establishment’s interference in politics, terming it a threat to the country and national institutions.
“The establishment’s unconstitutional political role and interference has created a terrible distance between the people and the state,” read a statement issued after the meeting hosted by the Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) in Islamabad. It said the participants had decided on the need for a joint struggle to achieve their objectives, adding other parties would be contacted for their participation.
Agreeing to basic principles of complete restoration of the Constitution, rule of law, restoration of democracy through free and fair elections, independence of the judiciary and civil supremacy, the meeting warned of major threats to the country’s future. “Today’s meeting understands the fundamental reason for all the crises of the country and the deviation from the unanimous Constitution of the country and the disregard to the elected Parliament of millions of people,” it said, stressing there could be no compromise on the Constitution.
“No decision will be accepted and no one will be allowed to do so without the will and approval of Parliament,” read the statement. It said the participants had rejected the results of the Feb. 8 general elections and slammed the “fake” government it claimed was “imposed” on the people.
The forum alleged the incumbent government had artificial stability through the support of the establishment and demanded the establishment immediately stop all kinds of interference in politics. It also maintained that a “truly elected” Parliament must devise the country’s internal and foreign policies to bring the country out of political instability and global isolation.
According to the statement, PTI leaders Gohar Ali Khan, Omar Ayub Khan, Asad Qaiser and Raoof Hasan; Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Abdul Rahim Ziyaratwal, Sardar Shafiq Khan Tareen and Riaz Khan; Balochistan National Party’s Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal, Sajid Khan and Tarin Parviz Zohoor; Jamaat-e-Islami’s Liaquat Baloch and Amirul Azeem; SIC’s Sahibzada Muhammad Raza; and MWM’s Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Jafari, Syed Asad Abbas Naqvi and Nasir Shirazi Mohsin Shehryar attended the meeting.