Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai on Monday outlined the conditions under which his party will strike an alliance with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) apart from highlighting fundamental issues.
Addressing a public contact drive in Loralai, Balochistan, on Monday, Achakzai said he was amenable to an alliance with the deposed prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
Laying out his conditions for such an alliance, he underscored the significance of upholding constitutional principles.
The alliance with PML-N will last as long as Nawaz Sharif adheres to the supremacy of the Constitution, parliamentary sovereignty, and the concept of Pakistan as a federation with autonomous units.
Imbalance
On topics closer to home, Achakzai pointed to the global imbalance in the distribution of resources. He highlighted that similar issues have been plaguing those inside Pakistan.
Expressing his regret at the elite capture of the country, Achackzai claimed there was an unequal distribution of resources among different regions of Pakistan, with resources concentrated in the hands of a few.
He pointed out that Pakhtuns living in Pakistan face a double challenge. The first was that despite residing in areas endowed with substantial natural resources, they lacked control and autonomy to exploit them for their well-being. Consequently, they faced the second challenge: they were compelled to seek employment in other parts of the country.
He alleged that in the aftermath of the war on terror, Pakhtuns faced racial discrimination, leading to a loss of livelihood opportunities apart from security concerns.
Achakzai argued that such treatment was undeserved, given the egalitarian nature of Pakhtun society, a characteristic of a civilized community. To support his arguments, he highlighted their hospitable traits as evidence of the societal ethos which they follow.