PONM rejects reforms, holds Army responsible for crisis

QUETTA: The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONM) has rejected the government reforms and held army responsible for the existing crisis in the country.

"The constant illegal and unconstitutional interference by the Pakistan Army in the democratic process is the main cause of the country's problems. The army has never given an opportunity to politicians to rule the country, nor it intends to do so in future," said acting chairman of PONM Mahmood Khan Achakzai while briefing newsmen about the details of the PONM meeting held in Peshawar on Wednesday.

Leaders of the component parties of PONM including the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, the Pakhtunkhwa Qaumi Party, Sindh Thinkers Forum, Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, Sirakistan National Movement, Sindh Hari Committee, Saraiki National Party, Sindh National Front and Balochistan National Party attended the meeting.

Accompanied by veteran politicians Mohammad Afzal Khan, Jalal Mahmood Shah, Qadir Magsi and others, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said the country is passing through the worst crisis of its history. "There is martial law in the country and General Pervez Musharraf is changing the constitution in the name of bringing reforms, which is not acceptable to the movement". He said, "Since its inception, the PONM in its declaration had been asking re-organisation of Pakistan to make it a true federation, where national and provincial issues could be redressed".

The PONM rejected the assertions of the rulers and said only those politicians, who had been toeing the army lines were equally responsible for the present day problems of the country.

He said Pakistan could not afford more experiments. Field Martial Ayub Khan did his own experiment, and then came Yahya Khan followed by General Ziaul Haq and now General Pervez Musharraf. The country is now passing through the worst crisis that is not in its interest.

Rejecting the government's reforms and amendment in the constitution by the military rulers, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said: "PONM is not ready to give any political role to the army and ISI. We also warn those political parties which are making deals with the military rulers only to come into power. They should give up such agreements that could lead the country towards destruction," he said adding: "Such deals would push the country towards destruction".
Achakzai said holding of free, fair and impartial election is the only solution to the confronting problems. He said PONM would continue its struggle for the enforcement of true democratic system. He reminded that the country was ruled without the constitution for nine years.

He said it was astonishing to note that those politicians who received money were termed corrupt but nobody including the Supreme Court could frame charges against those who distributed the money and made the system corrupt. He said General Aslam Beg himself confessed to have distributed Rs 140 million among politicians.
The PMAP chairman warned that the fate of Pakistan would not be different than that of Afghanistan if the army continued interfering in politics. He said today Pakistan stands alone in the comity of nations. It has no friend any where due to its wrong policies. He said policy makers had been considering Afghanistan as its fifth province and termed it as their strategic depth but now they have been acting otherwise. He said Pakistan could not make progress by treating its four nationalities as slaves. He said the people of Sindh had been demanding their due constitutional rights on water but the irresponsible rulers were not giving them the right to live.

Achakzai said, "The formation of a king's party will never solve the problems. These tactics had never been successful in the past nor it will get any positive result in future." The then rulers had witnessed the results when the democratic decisions of Sheikh Mujeebur Rahman were not accepted. They formed Islami Jamhoori Ittehad but achieved nothing. He said they could not produce leaders by making such experiments.

The PONM leader said power should be handed over to those judges who had not taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order and they should hold elections. He said the army should also promise to the nation that they would not interfere in the democratic process in the future.

Expressing grave concern over the existing crisis through which the country was passing, Achakzai said the PONM in its meeting reviewed in depth the deteriorating situation and observed that the constitution of Pakistan was hurdle in solving various nationalities' problems. It, he said, was the need of the hour to make basic changes in it.

Pakistan is a multinational state and every nation has its own history. He said formation of national units on the basis of various nationalities would solve the country's problems. Those units, he said, should be given rights on their own respective national resources, their assemblies should be made autonomous, equal representation be given to them in the Senate. These nationalities should be made more powerful, regional languages should be declared as their official languages and Urdu should be declared as a language of co-ordination.

He said by holding free, fair and impartial elections in the country, Pakistan could be made a democratic country according to the requirements of the 21st century.