Opposition launches protest over 27th Amendment
Leaders of Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aeen-e-Pakistan Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas address a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad on Sunday. SCREENGRAB
The opposition alliance Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ain-e-Pakistan announced a nationwide protest movement against the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, declaring that it would not allow Parliament to function until the amendment is withdrawn.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Islamabad, the nominated Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, declared the amendment an attack on the Constitution, calling it Pakistan’s own 9/11. “On a holiday, an attack was launched on the Constitution — an attack on the very foundations of Pakistan. This is our own 9/11.”
He claimed that “a group of illegitimate rulers has seized power in Pakistan without elections.” “We are patriots who love this country. I have taken an oath five times to defend the Constitution,” he said, adding that “false propaganda is being spread, and the public is being misled.”
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Achakzai, who is also chairman of the alliance, announced that the protest movement would begin immediately. “Our movement begins today. Strengthening individuals will not save Pakistan. We warn everyone — this is an attack on the country’s very foundations,” he stated.
He said the alliance would block parliamentary proceedings and mobilize the public. “Parliament will be stopped from functioning,” he said. “If schoolchildren come out for their rights, will you open fire on them? … Tonight, at 8:30 p.m., we begin our slogans.” He added that the slogan will be: “Aisay Dastoor Ko Hum Nahin Maante” (We do not accept this constitution).
At the same presser, Allama Nasir Abbas and other alliance leaders joined in announcing the campaign, which will include a National Consultative Conference in Islamabad this week.
“The judicial system is being dismantled,” Achakzai said, adding that delegations would meet representatives of bar councils and retired judges. “We will invite business associations and representatives of all sectors. We urge every public opinion-maker to share their views.”
Abbas, who is also the Vice Chairman of the movement and head of the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, described the amendment as “an attack on the Constitution” and urged citizens to mobilize. He said the protest movement would begin tonight at 8:30pm across the country.
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He alleged that the country’s mandate was “stolen on February 8,” claiming that the judiciary and certain institutions facilitated electoral manipulation through Form 47. “They snatched PTI’s mandate and handed the government to those with only 17 seats,” he said. “Now, they are trying to grant immunity to certain individuals—allowing them to commit oppression, tyranny, and even murder without accountability for life.”
27وی ترمیم لاکر آپ ان فورسز کو بھی تباہ کرنے جارہے ہیں جن کو پاکستان کے سرحدوں کی حفاظت کرنی ہے۔ نیوی اور ایئرفورس کو برری فورس کے نیچے لاکر باقی فورسز کو کیا پیغام دیا جارہا ہے؟
وائس چیئرمین تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان و سربراہ مجلس وحدت مسلمین علامہ ناصر عباس pic.twitter.com/vtYXQCb2i9Abbas also criticized the proposed restructuring of the military command, particularly the abolition of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. He claimed the amendment would grant the Army Chief control over all three services, warning that such concentration of power would “destroy the institutional balance within Pakistan’s defense structure.”
Recalling the 2019 Balakot episode, he said, “When India attacked, the then Army Chief advised restraint, but the Air Chief insisted on responding—and we did. Imagine the consequences if all power is concentrated in one person. Without checks and balances, even humans turn into pharaohs.”
He warned that the amendment would send a damaging message within the defense establishment. “You are about to destroy the very forces responsible for defending Pakistan’s borders. What message are you sending to the Navy and Air Force by placing them under the land forces?” he asked.
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Meanwhile, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Vice Chairman of the alliance, argued that the current Parliament lacks credibility. “The way this Parliament came into being after the February 8 elections, and the way election petitions were dismissed—followed by constitutional changes to prevent their hearing—are all before the nation,” he said.
He claimed the 26th Amendment was passed “secretly,” alleging that “99 percent of members were unaware of its contents,” and said the Supreme Court’s decisions regarding reserved seats enabled the government to secure a majority.
اس ہفتے اسلام آباد میں ایک قومی مشاورتی کانفرنس بلائی جائے گی جہاں 27ویں آئینی ترمیم اور موجودہ صورتحال کے حوالے سے لائحہ عمل بنایا جائے گا۔**
* 27ویں ترمیم کے تحت جعلی ریفرنڈم اور 1973ء کے عمرانی معاہدے کے پامال ہونے پر بیداری کی خلاف فارم 47 کی اسیمبلی سے منظوری کے اگلے دن ملک… pic.twitter.com/2NCeUHdG2dKhokhar announced that a National Consultative Conference will be held in Islamabad this week to shape a unified strategy. He said that the day after the “fraudulent approval” of the 27th Amendment would be observed as a National Day of Mourning, with citizens wearing black armbands and lawyers protesting in black attire in courts.
Outlining the movement’s next steps, Khokhar said scholars, retired judges, and intellectuals would be invited to express concerns; nationwide rallies, corner meetings and gatherings would follow; and a Public Outreach Committee would be formed to engage civil society, media and the business community. Articles would also be written for domestic and international media, and coordination would be established with bar councils and lawyers’ associations.
* غیر ملکی میڈیا، ملکی ٹی وی اور اخبارات میں باقاعدگی سے پاکستان کے عوام کا مقدمہ پیش کرنے کے لیے آرٹیکل لکھے جائیں۔
وائس چیئرمین تحریک تحفظ آئین پاکستان مصطفی نواز کھوکھر@mustafa_nawazk pic.twitter.com/QNAx95JrEaConcluding, Khokhar said: “This Constitution is no longer the consensus document of 1973—it has been turned into an insurance policy for the continuity and protection of power in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Landhi. The people of Pakistan must now decide whether to reclaim their Constitution or surrender it to those who have distorted it.”
In a later statement, the alliance announced that a nationwide “Black Day” would be observed the day after what it called the “fraudulent approval” of the amendment. Citizens will be urged to wear black armbands, while lawyers will don black ribbons in courts