ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) — a multi-party opposition alliance — has announced a nationwide protest movement against the proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment, just hours after the government introduced it in the upper house of Parliament.
“Democratic institutions have been paralysed in Pakistan… the nation must rise against the [proposed] 27th Amendment,” said Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas in a statement.
Abbas accused the government of granting “even more authority to the already powerful” through the proposed constitutional changes.
Alongside the MWM, the TTAP alliance comprises the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai announced that the nationwide campaign would begin tomorrow (Sunday) night.
“From tomorrow night, our slogan will be ‘Long live democracy, down with dictatorship.’ Our third slogan will demand the release of political prisoners,” Achakzai declared, adding that the movement would demonstrate that the will of the people of Pakistan will prevail.
Stressing the Constitution’s centrality to both the state and its citizens, Achakzai vowed that the TTAP would work to ensure its supremacy.
He further said that the opposition alliance was left with no option but to take to the streets after the government’s move, which, he claimed, “undermines the very foundations of the Constitution.”
The TTAP’s protest announcement follows the federal government’s tabling of the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate, which proposes sweeping reforms to Pakistan’s military and judicial structures.
The amendment, introduced by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with support from most coalition partners, has been referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice for further deliberation.
Among its key provisions, the amendment seeks to replace the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) with a newly designated position titled “Chief of Defence Forces.”
It also proposes the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court, changes to the appointment process of high court judges, and a reduction in the Supreme Court’s powers, transferring some authorities to the proposed new court.
Additionally, the amendment seeks to grant the president lifelong immunity from criminal proceedings.
