TTAP announces nationwide protest drive against proposed 27th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: In a last-ditch effort to halt the government’s controversial 27th Constitutional Amendment, a coalition of six opposition parties, operating under the banner of Tehreek-e-Tahffuz-e-Aayine-e-Pakistan (TTAP), on Saturday announced a nationwide protest movement, hours after the amendment was tabled in the Senate.

Addressing a news conference, TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and senior leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas vowed to mobilise masses in what they described as a defence of the country’s beleaguered constitution.

“Let’s say Bismillah, and launch a countrywide movement from Sunday (today) evening at 8:30pm,” Achakzai declared, his voice heavy with indignation.

“Democratic institutions have been paralysed within Pakistan,” Abbas warned. “The nation must rise against the highly controversial 27th Amendment Bill, which is nothing less than a grab for unchecked power by the powerful.”

Both leaders thundered that the amendment posed an existential threat to the country’s constitutional order, denouncing the government’s manoeuvre as a brazen attempt to cling to power through illegitimate means and handpick its loyalists to tighten control.

Achakzai, visibly perturbed, accused the ruling coalition of reducing the country’s constitution to “a joke,” asserting that the proposed legislation undermined the very principles meant to safeguard the country.

Rallying the nation, Achakzai implored citizens outraged by what he called the “mockery of the constitution” to rise up and join the movement.

“From Sunday night, our slogan will be ‘Long live democracy, down with dictatorship,’” he said. “Our third slogan will demand the release of political prisoners.”

He stressed that TTAP’s goal was to ensure that the will of the people, not the whims of those in power, dictated the country’s future.

The TTAP leaders warned that the 27th Amendment would consolidate executive power and erode judicial independence, deepening Pakistan’s institutional fragility.

“This is not just politics; this is a fight for the soul of Pakistan,” Achakzai said. “We will not allow the foundations of our constitution to be shaken for the convenience of those in power.”

TTAP’s protests, scheduled to begin Sunday (today) evening at 8:30pm, signal a potential escalation in political confrontation, raising the stakes for the government as it seeks to push the 27th Amendment through a deeply divided parliament.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025