Asif Mahmood
The meeting between British High Commissioner Jane Marriott and Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who is the Leader of the Opposition, has raised several questions. These questions deserve to be examined with seriousness. At a time when the region appears to be in a state resembling war, one must ask what the necessity of this meeting was. What were the issues of “mutual interest” that came under discussion? I was just reading the news where it was stated that matters of mutual interest were discussed. The question is simple: what exactly were those matters of mutual interest?
Mahmood Khan Achakzai has a particular political background. It is precisely because of that background that Imran Khan made him the Leader of the Opposition. Otherwise, Achakzai has only a single seat in the National Assembly. How can a man with just one seat become the Leader of the Opposition? This is indeed a rather strange and somewhat comical chapter in parliamentary history. It appears that since Mahmood Khan Achakzai takes an unnecessarily harsh position regarding the establishment, Imran Khan chose to assign him this role.
In the past as well, we have seen that Achakzai has held a particular viewpoint about Pakistan, about Pakistan’s institutions, about the country’s establishment, and even about the Pakistan Army. That viewpoint is not only factually flawed but also ethically questionable. When he went to Lahore in the past to attend a PDM rally, he began criticizing the Urdu language there. At times he claims that the Pakistan Army is the army of merely four districts. At other times he launches unwarranted criticism of Pakistan’s foreign policy. His unnecessary and extraordinary tilt toward Afghanistan is also quite evident.
Therefore, when a person with such positions meets the British High Commissioner in these circumstances, the matters of “mutual interest” cannot simply be brushed aside. At the very least, they deserve careful consideration. One must ask what exactly is going on.
Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf made a mistake from the very beginning by creating a state of permanent confrontation. In this politics of hostility, it even pushed its own workers into the fray. Nothing beneficial has come out of it. Political problems are resolved through political means. They cannot be solved by placing a gun at the temple of the state, nor at gunpoint, nor through blackmail, nor by blocking roads, nor by inviting external intervention.
The path to Imran Khan’s release will pass either through the courts or through a political understanding among Pakistan’s political actors. This door will not open through pressure from Britain or the United States. It has not opened, it is not opening, and it will not open in the future through such pressure.
These kinds of meetings by Mahmood Khan Achakzai will not bring any benefit to Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf. They may, however, create a sense of unease within the country and compel people to ask what the purpose of such a meeting really is.