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, hours after the government introduced it in the upper house of Parliament.
“Democratic institutions have been paralyzed within Pakistan…the nation must step forward against the [proposed] 27th Amendment,” Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said in a statement.
Abbas claimed that the government was giving “even more power” to the “powerful” through proposed constitutional changes.
Apart from the MWM, the alliance also includes Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said the nationwide movement would begin tomorrow (Sunday) night.
“Starting tomorrow night, our motto will be ‘Long live democracy, down with dictatorship.’ Our third motto will call for the release of [political] prisoners,” he said.
Through this move, the alliance will demonstrate that the will of the people of Pakistan will be the final decision, he added.
Emphasizing the importance of the Constitution to both the State and its citizens, Achakzai said the TTAP would ensure that it remains supreme.
The PkMAP chief stated that the opposition alliance had no choice but to launch a protest movement following the government’s move which, according to him, “shaken the foundations of the Constitution.”
The announcement of a protest movement comes shortly after the federal government introduced the 27th Constitutional Amendment in the Senate, seeking radical changes to military and judicial structures.
The proposed amendment, initiated by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with the support of most of its allies, was tabled in the Senate and sent to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for discussion.
The amendment proposes a change to Article 243, seeking to abolish the position of “Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee” (CJCSC) and introduce a new title, “Chief of the Defense Forces”.
Other proposals include the establishment of a Federal Constitutional Court and reviews of the appointment process for high court judges.
The proposed amendment also aims to reduce the powers of the Supreme Court, transferring some authorities to the proposed Constitutional Court, and lifetime immunity to the president from criminal proceedings.
