TTAP Deputy Chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addresses the media along with alliance chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai after arriving in Lahore on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
LAHORE:
A Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) convoy reached Lahore on Thursday despite police action, arrests and obstruction along the route, as the opposition alliance pressed ahead with its street mobilization campaign ahead of the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024 general elections.
The delegation, led by TTAP President Mahmood Khan Achakzai, left Islamabad on the GT Road on the same day and entered Lahore in the evening. The alliance said several of its workers were detained during the journey, while the convoy’s vehicles were vandalized in several places.
“Despite fascism, oppression and all obstacles, the TTAP caravan successfully reached Lahore,” PTI Punjab chapter said in a post on X.
According to TTAP, the Lahore administration placed containers to block routes near Data Darbar, while police action was reported in Gujar Khan, Gujrat, Kharian, Wazirabad and Lahore. The alliance claimed that “dozens” of workers belonging to the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), a constituent party of the TTAP, were arrested in Lahore, including MWM senior vice-president Syed Hussain Kazmi.
TTAP also alleged that the son of MWM chief and TTAP vice-president Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was detained. However, a Gujranwala police officer denied the arrest and said he was briefly detained for questioning after a police officer was hit by a vehicle linked to a PTI rally and was later released.
The PTI, condemning what it described as “fascism and oppression” by the Punjab police, alleged that peaceful party workers were detained and vehicles of PTI legislators Malik Fahad, Raja Tanvir and Sardar Muhammad Ali were vandalized near Kharian. The party also claimed that unidentified individuals damaged convoy vehicles in Gujrat.
In a separate statement, the PTI alleged that night raids were carried out on the houses of its workers in Lahore, claiming that a party worker, Rashid Yousuf Jan, was killed during a raid in Hanjarwal. The party demanded the immediate release of all “unjustly arrested” individuals and accountability for what it called unconstitutional actions.
Addressing the workers after reaching Lahore, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the movement had been launched to restore the Constitution and the rule of law. He urged the public to speak out against oppression, warning that delayed action would lead to more sacrifices.
Earlier, while addressing his supporters in Jhelum, Abbas alleged that he had been robbed of public mandate in the 2024 elections and said the alliance would take to the streets across the country on February 8 in protest.
Before leaving for Lahore, Achakzai said the movement would remain peaceful. “We are not going to conquer anyone or throw stones. We have set out to put an end to oppression and cruelty,” he said, calling on the public to support the opposition against what he described as an imposed Parliament.
Achakzai, who has been nominated as the next opposition leader in the National Assembly, said the country was facing deep political and economic crises due to what he called flawed decisions. He appealed to citizens to observe the protests on February 8, urging traders and transporters to close shops, rickshaws and taxis in solidarity.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain said Achakzai and Abbas would stay in Lahore for three days. Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser are also expected to participate in political activities during the visit.
According to Lahore High Court Bar Association President Asif Nuswana, Achakzai will address lawyers at Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar Association on Friday (today) after jumma prayers, at the invitation of Insaf Lawyers Forum.
TTAP’s street campaign coincides with calls from opposition parties to observe February 8 as a “black day” marking two years since the 2024 general election, which they claim was marred by fraud and manipulation. The alliance has also reiterated demands for an independent judiciary and electoral commission, the release of political prisoners and renewed dialogue to ease political tensions.
