Opposition warns of shrinking political space, demands fresh ‘charter of democracy’
APP
ISLAMABAD: A multi-party opposition conference on Friday warned that political space in the country was shrinking rapidly, accusing the government of suppressing dissent and violating as it called for a fresh charter of democracy to “restore” the Constitution and democracy.
“The opposition [of this country] is being deliberately cornered and denied political space,” senior politician Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said while addressing a press conference following completion of Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan’s (TTAP) two-day multi-party conference.
He claimed the state was undermining the constitutional right to assembly by obstructing opposition gatherings, while economic pressures were driving the business class abroad.
Khokhar highlighted that 45% of the population was living below the poverty line and unemployment had soared to 20%.
Reading out a joint declaration of the multi-party conference, Khokhar demanded the release of the PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, and for their cases to be fixed before the Islamabad High Court.
The conference, attended by opposition parties, lawyers, and media figures, criticised denounced what they termed the “rising fascism and political revenge” in the country.
The declaration also condemned decisions against opposition leaders in the Senate and National Assembly, calling them politically motivated. It said Pakistan’s democratic system and human rights were in ruins and stressed the need for a new consensus-based charter of democracy among all political forces.
Calling for reforms, the conference proposed setting up a ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’, ensuring media freedom through practical steps, and including women’s rights and education in any future charter.It also urged the federal government to return usurped provincial rights, abolish the 26th Constitutional Amendment, and introduce a transparent system for judicial appointments. It termed the six judges who wrote letters about interference in the judiciary as national heroes.
The conference rejected the 2024 general election results and demanded an independent and empowered Election Commission.
Highlighting regional issues, the APC declared that Balochistan’s resources belonged to its people and that the missing persons must be immediately produced before the courts. It said civilian institutions must be tasked with maintaining law and order and called for lifting restrictions on religious pilgrims travelling for Arbaeen by-road.
The declaration proposed reopening traditional cross-border trade routes, restoring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa High Court’s decision on Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulations, and withdrawing the Supreme Court appeal by the PTI-led provincial government.
It called for water distribution as per the 1993 accord and objected to canal projects affecting the Indus Delta. The APC also demanded that Senate members be elected by direct public vote and given equal powers to National Assembly legislators.
Gilgit-Baltistan should be declared a full constitutional province, the statement added, and inter-party working relations must be rebuilt for the country to move forward.
The APC condemned restrictions on media by the government and demanded an end to Jirga-imposed injustices against women.
Referring to the broader foreign policy concern, the participants said the Israeli prime minister should be declared an international war criminal and prosecuted at the International Court of Justice.
