——– At two-day moot, PkMAP Chief says will continue “this sacred battle” in democratic manner
——– Country at a crossroads where it has become impossible to move forward, maintains opposition
——– Opposition’s grand alliance confab kicks off in Islamabad
Peshawar: Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said on Wednes-day that the opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, has decided to fight “unconstitu-tional and un-democratic forces” in the country.
Achakzai’s statement came at the end of the Grand Alliance Conference’s first day. The opposition par-ties will continue the moot tomorrow.
“We will continue this sacred battle against unconstitutional and undemocratic forces in a democratic manner,” Achakzai said while speaking to journalists in Islamabad, flanked by other opposition leaders.
The meeting was attended by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Awam Pakistan’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s (MWM) Nasir Shirazi and others.
Talking to the media, Abbasi accused the government of “threatening an Islamabad hotel’s administra-tion” to revoke permission for the second day of its two-day conference, which was being held at the venue.
He said the alliance has been trying to hold a conference for the past month. “When we decided to hold the conference in a marquee, it was opposed by saying that cricket teams pass from near the venue,” he claimed.
“There was nothing which was against any matter of the state or any talk of incitement. Just talks on the Constitution and the rule of law,” the former premier said adding that the incumbent government is “afraid of a single conference and cannot bear this”.
Abbasi, who was previously part of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, noted that the confer-ence was not out in the streets with the participation of hundreds of thousands.
“The hotel administration told us that they were threatened to revoke the permission for the second day of the moot. When we asked the administration to give us in writing why the conference could not be held for the above reason, they [staff] expressed their helplessness,” he added.
However, he said, the alliance has decided that this conference will definitely take place tomorrow. “This is our constitutional right and we are talking about the Constitution,” he added.
For his part, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub condemned the lack of rule of law in the country.
Condemning the authorities for “threatening the hotel administration”, he vowed that the opposition alliance would proceed with the event.
Ayub said that the speakers talked about strengthening the country, adding that everyone gathered was of a democratic mindset.
“We are talking to strengthen the country and here the hotel administration came to us and expressed their desperation that they are under pressure,” he added.
The convergence of opposition parties comes against the backdrop of now-stalled negotiations be-tween the PTI and the ruling coalition which failed to produce much results despite multiple rounds of talks.
The Imran Khan-founded party, since then, has engaged in a contact drive — initiated in light of ex-PM’s directives — with the TTAP leaders also visiting Sindh to meet the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) with the two sides agreeing to work together for the supremacy of the Constitution and inde-pendence of the judiciary and parliament in the country.
The two sides also agreed to form committees as the next step in working together to achieve a com-mon agenda. –Agencies
