REACTION OF SARDAR ATAULLAH MENGAL, MAHMOOD KHAN ACHAKZAI AND ALTAF HUSSAIN OVER THE DECISION OF THE FEDERAL CABINET

London – 21 October 2000

The Convenor of the PONM Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Leader of the Pashtun Khwa Milli Awami Party Mr Mahmood Khan Achakzai and the Founder and Leader of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Mr Altaf Hussain eloquently clarified that those levelling accusations against them as anti-state are the elements of the Establishment who destroyed the country by dismembering Pakistan, caused economic collapse and are the real traitors. They said this in a joint communiqué issued from London.

They said that in 1971, Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Altaf Hussain had not fragmented Pakistan. They further re-iterated that Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Altaf Hussain did not abrogate three Constitutions of the country. Nevertheless, the Establishment of Punjab is hell-bent to proclaim them as anti-state in line with their established parochialism.

Sardar Ataullah Mengal, Mr Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Mr Altaf Hussain stated that the Establishment of Punjab can fulfil their passion by establishing an International Commission detached from the influence of the present ruling Government and indifferent to our plight, to determine whether they are anti-state. They said that they would produce the videocassette recordings and present their point of view before that impartial and independent Commission and will accept the decision of the Commission. They further said that this Commission should be established under the auspice of the United Nations. All the three leaders affirmed that they stand by with the Resolutions presented on 17^th. September 2000. They said that by presenting the Resolutions, they have not sinned nor committed any crime. They said that those elements had been committing sins and crimes who had dismembered the country, abrogated the Constitutions of the country and desecrated the honour of the Supreme Courts and termed their unconstitutional and illegal acts appropriate under the “Doctrine of Necessity”

Concluding the communiqué, the three leaders said that they have the moral courage not only to standby their Resolutions but accept that they have openly presented their point of view through that Resolution. However, they questioned the present rulers whether they possessed the moral courage to admit that the empowered Establishment and institutions were in fact, responsible for the dismemberment of the country and not only these institutions trampled over the Constitutions of the country repeatedly but also withheld the publication of Humood-ur-Rahman Commission Report for the past thirty years for the fears that the elements who dismembered the country but issued certificates of treachery are hidden under the cover of these institutions.