The opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Tuesday staged a march from Parliament House to Supreme Court as part of its nationwide protest movement against the newly enacted 27th Amendment.
The 27th Amendment was signed into law on November 13 after passage from the parliament amid strong criticism by the opposition parties. The legislation, which has brought major structural changes to the judiciary and the military, has been assailed by the legal fraternity, even former and sitting judges, as an “attack” on judicial independence.
In a meeting on Friday, the TTAP had vowed to vigorously protest to “restore the Constitution to its original form”.
Under a plan announced then, members of parties under the TTAP umbrella gathered outside Parliament House today to hold a protest. They then marched to the Supreme Court on Constitution Avenue.
TTAP Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and PTI Senator Faisal Javed were at the forefront of the march, visuals shared by the TTAP on social media platform X showed.
“Battle will persist till the judiciary’s independence,” they chanted. TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai could be seen participating in the march as well.
At the protest outside Parliament House, visuals shared by the TTAP showed protesters holding banners that read “Death to dictatorship, long live democracy”, “27th Amendment rejected”, and “Subjugation of the judiciary is the public’s subjugation”.
Achakzai, Abbas, Raja, ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser were among the key leaders present at the protest. Others included PTI MNAs Zain Qureshi and Junaid Akbar, Balochistan National Party-Mengal’s (BNP-M) Sajid Tareen, Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai and PTI lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry.
The gathered protesters chanted, “Aise dastoor ko nahi maantey, subh-i-be-nur ko nahi maantey” (we do not accept this constitution, we do not accept this morning bereft of light) — echoing Habib Jalib’s poetry, also used by opposition lawmakers in recent parliamentary sessions.
The TTAP leaders also raised slogans in favour of PTI founder Imran Khan, with some holding party flags.
National moot planned; ‘Black Day’ on Friday
Addressing the media, Achakzai announced that TTAP will organise a national conference on the 27th Amendment, where judges, lawyers, journalists, experts, and others will be invited.
The TTAP chief, as decided in the group’s Friday meeting, also announced that a “Black Day” will be observed on Friday (November 21) across the country in protest of the 27th Amendment.
He reiterated the TTAP’s objection to the lifetime immunities granted to the army chief and the president through the 27th Amendment, stressing that every person shall be held accountable for their actions under Islam.
Achakzai further said that even if a political party held a “100 per cent mandate” in the parliament, it could not change the “basic structure” of the Constitution of civilian supremacy. “The military, the judiciary, everyone will be independent in their functions, but they must be subservient to the elected parliament,” he asserted.
Speaking to reporters, Qaiser said the TTAP leadership, civil society, lawyers, mediapersons and other stakeholders will gather next week to formulate the future action plan.
In a post on X, Qaiser said protesters criticised the government for “disfiguring the unanimous Constitution of 1973 through force and horse-trading”. “We do not accept any 26th or 27th Amendment passed through the back as they fundamentally aim to bring the judiciary under the executive,” he added.
At the protest, Raja stressed that PTI lawmakers were the “representatives of the Pakistani public” and they rejected the new amendments, saying they were an “attack on the judiciary and the people”. “Your [and] my life, property, chaddor (honour), privacy — all has been taken away,” he claimed.
Yesterday, PTI MPAs held a walk from the Punjab Assembly to Charing Cross on The Mall to record their protest against the passage of the 27th Amendment.
Last week, the TTAP also said a resolution would be presented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly against the 27th Amendment.
The TTAP, formed in April last year, is a coalition of six opposition parties, including the PTI. Earlier in July, it formalised its organisational structure, declaring blanket support for all anti-government protests.
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