ISLAMABAD:
The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) on Sunday denounced the 27th Amendment as an “assault on the Constitution” and “Pakistan’s 9/11”, as the opposition alliance announced the launch of a nationwide protest campaign to resist “the direct attack on the foundations of the State”.
At a joint press conference in Islamabad, leaders of the alliance, including National Assembly-appointed Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Senate-appointed Opposition Leader Allama Nasir Abbas, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and others, also declared that they would not allow Parliament to function until the amendment was withdrawn.
Achakzai, who heads the alliance, compared the move to a national tragedy. “On a public holiday, an attack on the Constitution was launched. This is 9/11 in Pakistan,” he said.
“We came here knowingly and voluntarily. A miserable clique has taken power without elections.” “We are patriots. I have sworn five times to defend this Constitution. False propaganda is being spread to deceive the public,” he added.
Achakzai called for immediate mobilization and announced the start of a mass movement starting Sunday night. “This attack on the country’s foundations will not be tolerated. The strength of one individual will not save Pakistan,” he said.
“Parliament will not be allowed to function. When schoolchildren stand up for their rights, will they be shot? Tehreek-e-Labbaik was shot. [Pakistan] workers…why?”
He stated that at 8:30 p.m. the first slogan of the movement will be raised: “Aisay Dastoor Ko Hum Nahin Maante” (“We reject such a constitution”).
“Our campaign starts tonight. We have no personal enmity with anyone,” he said, adding that supporters of jailed PTI supremo Imran Khan had also called for a move.
In a statement issued later, the TTAP announced that a national consultative conference would be convened this week in Islamabad, to which representatives from all sectors of society would be invited.
The statement said a Black Day would be celebrated across the country the day after the “false passage” of the 27th Amendment.
“People will wear black armbands and lawyers will wear black ribbons in court to register their protest,” the statement said. He added that “we hope that conscientious judges will voice their concerns,” while calling for a “new social contract” for Pakistan.
The alliance also announced plans to form committees to generate public opinion, involve trade organizations and consult with members of the legal fraternity. “The judicial system is being dismantled. Lawyers will play a key role in this movement,” he said.
The statement further added that the delegations would meet retired judges of the Supreme Court and high courts to discuss the implications of the amendment.
