Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), has said that Afghanistan currently enjoys greater security and justice than Pakistan, asserting that Islamabad cannot impose its demands on the Afghan people.

Speaking during a podcast with a Pakistani program, Achakzai reflected on regional history and Pakistan’s policies toward Afghanistan. He said that following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan, the United States—backed by Pakistan—conducted extensive intelligence operations that turned Afghanistan into a prolonged battlefield.

According to him, Pakistan and the US benefited strategically from the conflict, while the Afghan population bore the greatest human and economic costs.

He also criticized Pakistan’s handling of Afghan refugees, noting that while parliamentary committees had formally called for providing facilities, refugees were instead politically exploited and used for strategic objectives. Achakzai said Pakistan has historically sought to use Afghans, particularly poor Pashtuns, as cheap labor and has been uneasy with Afghanistan’s efforts to engage independently with the international community.

The PkMAP leader argued that Pakistan’s internal political system lacks a strong democratic culture and justice, limiting its ability to serve as a regional model. “Pakistan uses its own people and has moved away from justice,” he said, adding that Afghanistan retains a stronger republican and democratic spirit.

Commenting on social and cultural issues, including girls’ education, Achakzai said Afghanistan has long suffered from foreign interventions, particularly by Russia and the United States. He argued that these powers dismantled Afghan institutions and social structures and later abandoned the country without meaningful support.

Achakzai also criticized Pakistan’s policy toward Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), calling it misguided. He said Pakistan militarized religious seminaries in the past and later shifted blame onto the Islamic Emirate. Attempts to pressure Afghanistan over issues such as water resources and refugees, he added, reflect political weakness in Islamabad.

He strongly condemned the forced deportation of Afghan refugees, describing it as a clear injustice, and warned that Pakistan would eventually be held accountable for such actions.

He concluded by stressing that Afghanistan’s reconstruction depends on the will of its own people, noting that foreign powers have historically preferred a weak and dependent Afghanistan to serve their own interests.