Opposition alliance rejects 27th Amendment and reveals protest plan for November 21

The Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain Pakistan rejected the 27th Constitutional Amendment in its entirety, announcing a nationwide Black Day on November 21 and a series of democratic protests aimed at what it described as the “restoration of the Constitution to its original form.”

The statement comes a day after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the 27th Amendment Bill, which is now part of the Constitution, while the meeting also condemned the 26th Constitutional Amendment passed last year in 2024. The statement came after an emergency meeting of the TTAP, chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai in Islamabad on Friday.

The meeting brought together senior leaders of the main opposition parties, including Asad Qaiser, general secretary of the TTAP; Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, president of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen; Advocate Gohar Khan, President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI); Salman Ikram Raja, PTI General Secretary; Akhtar Mengal, president of the Balochistan National Party; Zain Shah of Sindh United Party; Sajid Tarin of the Balochistan National Party; and the vice president of the TTAP, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, among others.

After the meeting, TTAP issued a strongly worded statement accusing the government of destroying the fundamental structure of the Constitution. Describing the 27th and 26th amendments as an attack on the fundamental pillars of the State, he argued that the changes had “subordinated the judiciary to the executive” and were introduced on “a personal basis”.

Read also: President accepts resignations of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah after 27th Amendment row

The alliance alleged that the amendments had effectively paralyzed the judicial system. “These controversial constitutional amendments have completely paralyzed the judiciary and have virtually nullified the authority and existence of the Supreme Court,” the statement read.

The gathering also paid tribute to Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, who resigned a day earlier in protest against the 27th Amendment, calling them “oath-bound and Constitution-loving judges”, while interpreting their resignations as a “resistance against the plundering of the Constitution”.

The opposition bloc warned that no individual or official could be placed above the law, arguing that the personal exemptions written into the Constitution violated the Quran and Sunnah, as well as the basic principles of democracy, accountability and justice. He said such exceptions had turned a previously unanimous Constitution into a matter of political dispute, calling the amendments an “egregious game” with the country’s unity and security.

Reaffirming its determination to oppose what it called “unconstitutional amendments,” TTAP said it would use all democratic avenues to restore the Constitution to its original form. The alliance also expressed its full support for the recent declaration of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Peace Jirga and demanded its immediate implementation.

Announcing the protest plan, the statement said members of the National Assembly and the Senate will march from Parliament to the Supreme Court on Monday, while a resolution against the recently passed amendment in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be tabled on the same day. TTAP legislators in Punjab will also march from the Punjab Assembly to the Lahore High Court.

TTAP further demanded the immediate release of PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, party leadership and workers, as well as activists associated with the Baloch Solidarity Committee. He called for the release of all political prisoners and promised a continued struggle on behalf of workers, farmers, industrialists and marginalized communities “until their rights are fully realized.”

The alliance insisted that the movement would not back down until the Constitution was restored to what it described as its “true and original essence.”