"The country has been stuck in a vicious circle for the last 75 years, and now the time has come for only the truth to break that cycle. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission," stated Chairman of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Mahmood Khan Achakzai during a public gathering in Ayub Stadium in Quetta, paying tribute to Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, affectionately known as Khan Shaheed, on his 50th martyrdom anniversary.
Setting aside political differences, Achakzai advised against revenge and hate towards Imran Khan, urging us not to let them blind us to compromise democracy. Mere traditional elections cannot surmount the accumulated problems; instead, Achakzai proposed a stakeholder conference lasting at least three days to evolve a democratic path leading to democracy.
He appealed to all, especially Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal, and Maulana, to rise to the occasion and play their roles for civilian supremacy, steering the country out of the present uncertainty and quagmire. Achakzai emphasized that elections and democracy are not just paths to the assembly and power corridors but a way of life and creed, for which his leader and father made sacrifices, spending half of his life behind bars. Khan Abdul Samad Khan's political creed was anti-imperialism and democracy.
Achakzai reminded that Nawaz Sharif is his friend, recalling their party's welcome to him in Quetta when he visited as the leader of IJI. He insisted on the need for a 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission' to determine responsibilities for the failure of democracy in the country.
He further elaborated that judges of the supreme judiciary who legitimized martial laws and deviated from the constitution should be named and reprimanded, while those who stood by the constitution should be awarded. Political workers who made supreme sacrifices for the restoration of democracy should be declared heroes of democracy.
Achakzai called upon the government to immediately accept the demands of the protesters in Chaman, warning against the escalating violation of human rights that must be stopped. He emphasized that anyone involved in wrongdoing should be presented in the court of law and tried under due process, opposing the forceful disappearance of anyone for any reason. Moreover, he urged the Afghanistan government to immediately convene a grand jirga, and counter looming threats.
Abdurahim Ziaratwal stated that the Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party is the mother party of PMAP, registered in the names of Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai and later Mahmood Khan Achakzai, and therefore, no one should be allowed to usurp it.
The event also featured addresses by Nawab Ayaz Khan Abdurauf Lala, Talimand Khan, Dr. Mohammad Ali, Mir Kalam Wazir, Amjad Tareen, Haroon Advocate, and Sharraf Agha.