ISLAMABAD: The opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), has rejected the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, terming it “person-specific” and announcing the launch of a nationwide protest movement.
TTAP Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addressed a joint press conference in Islamabad on Sunday, vowing to resist the amendment “at all costs.”
Achakzai said the movement would begin at 8:30 p.m., with the slogan “Aise dastoor ko hum nahi mante” (We do not accept such a constitution). He alleged that a group had “taken control of Pakistan without holding elections” and likened the situation to “an attack on the very foundations of the country.”
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“This too is a 9/11,” the TTAP chief remarked, adding that the alliance’s struggle was not based on “personal enmity” but aimed at protecting the Constitution and democratic values. TTAP Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said the amendments undermined the very spirit of the Constitution.
“Fundamentally, a social contract defines how the state ensures the basic rights of individuals — that is what the Constitution stands for,” he said.
“Social contracts have nothing to do with personalities. The proposed amendments to Article 243 are person-specific, drafted to benefit one individual — the position of the field marshal,” Khokhar alleged.
He further claimed that the Parliament “does not represent the people,” reiterating allegations of rigging in the February 2024 general elections.
Criticising the judiciary, Khokhar accused the Supreme Court of playing a “crucial role” in paving the way for the 27th Amendment by allotting reserved seats to ruling coalition parties — a decision, he said, overturned a previous ruling that had declared the PTI eligible for those seats. “This Parliament lacks both the ethical and legal legitimacy to make such far-reaching constitutional changes,” Khokhar asserted. Raja Nasir Abbas of the MWM said that the Parliament and judiciary have been “destroyed,” warning that the rulers were “driving the country toward ruin.”
He pledged that the alliance would go to “any extent” to block the amendment. “We will raise this slogan across the world today,” he declared. Meanwhile, in a statement, the TTAP announced that a national consultative conference would be held in Islamabad this week, inviting representatives from all walks of life to participate.
According to the statement, the alliance also announced that the day following the “fake approval” of the 27th Amendment would be observed as a black day. Citizens have been urged to wear black armbands in protest, while lawyers have been asked to demonstrate in courts wearing black bands.
TTAP further said that nationwide rallies and gatherings would follow the consultative conference, and a special committee had been formed to spearhead public awareness efforts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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