Political party launched by former Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Islamabad: Pakistan’s continued political turmoil is seeing the formation of new political parties, formed by prominent political leaders of major political parties who have now parted ways and refuse to be part of the polarised and compromised political spectrum of the country.

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, once a senior member of Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N), has now launched a new political party ‘Awaam Pakistan’ along with Miftah Ismail who had served as the Finance Minister of the country earlier.

The party, seen as an offshoot of the ruling PML-N, was launched in Islamabad on Saturday with the slogan of “Badlenge Nizam” (we will change the system).

A team comprising Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and former PPP (Pakistan Peoples Party) senior leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar has been working on the idea of forming a new party for some time now in order to challenge the current political setup and the powerful military establishment in the country.

“The vision of Awaam Pakistan is to provide equal economic opportunities to all Pakistanis. Our party will not follow hereditary politics or the concept of a messiah,” said Awaam Pakistan co-founder Miftah Ismail.

“If you believe that we have the right to move forward, then join us, we will stand with you and rebuild Pakistan. No senior party member will serve more than two terms. Nor will their children come and take their positions. We are not going to have dynasties or cults of personalities here but will operate on merit,” he added.

Slamming the current political turmoil, Miftah Ismail said it was the main reason why Pakistan has plummeted behind other countries in South Asia.

“Today, 100 million Pakistanis are living below the poverty line. Their children are starved. These politicians have brought us to this situation,” he said.

Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistani politicians have become more focused on keeping their seats than serving the public.

“It is upsetting that we worry about our seats more than the country. What moral authority do they have to resolve our problems?” he questioned.

The formation of Awaam Pakistan, believes Abbasi, is the first step towards a difficult journey which would ultimately lead to something better.

“Awaam Pakistan is an unconventional party, which presents an idea opposed to traditional, structured political parties,” he said. Regretting that the current system in Pakistan has finished off the concept of Left or Right, Abbasi mentioned that the ideology of Awaam Pakistan is to uplift the people.

“We need to uplift the country. The tragedy is that those sworn to defend the Constitution are violating it every day. How can a country of 240 million people run like this?” he questioned. The launch of Awaam Pakistan is also being closely watched by other political parties and their top leadership who have been ruling the country for decades. Experts believe that while the party’s ideology seems to hit the right pulse of the masses and appears to be speaking out at the right time, it remains to be seen if it would actually be able to walk the talk in the coming days.  (IANS)

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