The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), a multi-party opposition alliance, announced on Saturday a nationwide protest campaign against the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, describing it as an attack on the Constitution. The campaign is set to begin on Sunday and aims to mobilize citizens across the country against the measure.
The announcement was made during a joint news conference by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, TTAP head and nominated opposition leader in the National Assembly, and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, nominated opposition leader in the Senate and vice-chair of the movement.
Addressing supporters, Abbas warned that democratic institutions in Pakistan have been weakened and urged citizens to oppose the amendment, which he said would make the powerful “more powerful” and called it a “black and dark” measure.
The alliance includes Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Achakzai of PkMAP emphasized that the amendment undermines the social contract between the state and its citizens. He accused the government of bypassing parliamentary debate and treating the legislature as merely a debating society rather than a decision-making body, stating that the opposition had no choice but to launch the movement.
The protests will begin at 8:30 PM on Sunday with a unifying slogan and continue thereafter with daily themes. Planned slogans include “jamhuriyat zindabad, aamriyat murdabad” (Long live democracy, down with dictatorship) and calls for the release of political prisoners. Achakzai also pledged to introduce new slogans each day to counter the government’s “arrogant” approach, insisting that the will of the people and the supremacy of the Constitution must prevail.
The protest campaign comes in response to the government tabling the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate, which proposes significant changes to the military and judicial systems. Opposition leaders have urged all patriotic parties, personalities, and groups to join the movement in defense of democratic principles and constitutional supremacy in Pakistan.
