ISLAMABAD:
Opposition leaders on Saturday vehemently condemned the sentencing of PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II case, denouncing the verdict as a blow to justice and a clear symptom of a broader breakdown of constitutional order, judicial credibility and democratic accountability in the country.
The condemnation coincided with a broader mobilization at the national conference of the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (TTAP), where political leaders, lawyers, journalists, intellectuals and civil society representatives agreed that the moment called for resistance rather than reconciliation.
They supported a street movement as the only way left to fight against constitutional backsliding and defend democracy and fundamental rights.
Addressing a press conference at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, Islamabad, opposition leaders warned that such rulings would only add fuel to an already simmering political divide and further undermine public confidence in state institutions.
They said the verdict laid bare a familiar pattern of selective accountability, where the scales of justice appeared tilted, power set the terms and meaningful relief remained out of reach for both ordinary citizens and political dissidents.
Addressing the media, PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan said the party unequivocally rejected the sentence handed down to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi in the Toshakhana-II case. He warned that such verdicts would sow unrest and instability, adding that public confidence in the justice system was rapidly eroding.
TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said punishing those who defend rights cannot be considered justice. He said people would inevitably question such rulings, particularly in a country where massive corruption scandals involving billions of rupees were well known but largely went unpunished.
He said selling or buying consciousness seemed to have become the measure of being considered a “good Pakistani”.
Speaking on the occasion, Akhtar Mengal said the sentence deserved the strongest condemnation and asked if no previous prime minister had taken items from Toshakhana and if any of them had ever been punished.
Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the verdict was condemnable and added that both the public and parliament had become irrelevant. He alleged that public rights were effectively plundered within parliament and accused the government of trying to demoralize the opposition, a strategy he said would fail.
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar also condemned the sentence and stated that political victimization is no longer limited to politicians.
He cited cases against lawyer and human rights activist Iman Mazari for raising public issues, a narcotics case against journalist Matiullah Jan and the dismissal of judge Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, saying his only “crime” was to fast-track bail and election-related cases involving the PTI founder.
The courts should be boycotted
PTI leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi said the verdict had exposed the justice system and said it had become clear that Pakistan’s courts were no longer delivering justice. He said PTI workers were facing around 65,000 cases and suggested that courts should now be boycotted.
He warned that “fabricated verdicts” were creating a dangerous vacuum and cited a UN report that stated the ongoing actions were neither constitutional nor legal, but inhumane.
Zubair Umar said the opposition was deeply saddened by the sentences handed down to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, as well as the punishments given to Yasmin Rashid, Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mahmoodur Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry.
He said the judiciary had effectively been dismantled and asked who would trust verdicts handed down without proper trials. He questioned the logic of sentencing elderly leaders in their seventies, calling it blatant oppression, and said injustice would persist unless the government itself was challenged.
At the national conference, participants unanimously agreed that reconciliation with the establishment had failed and that resistance was now inevitable.
Political leaders rejected constitutional amendments, condemned the weakening of parliament, while lawyers denounced the erosion of judicial authority and journalists raised the alarm about the PECA law, which they said criminalized free expression.
Achakzai urged leaders like Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Nawaz Sharif and Jamaat-e-Islami to sit together for dialogue, while insisting that the February 8 election mandate be accepted. He said dialogue was only possible if permission was granted to meet Imran Khan, and emphasized that meetings with family members and political leaders were a basic right, regardless of their beliefs.
Veteran politician Javed Hashmi said nations achieved freedom through imprisonment and sacrifice, adding that rights were won through perseverance rather than retreat. He rejected divisive politics and said dialogue, not sloganeering or confrontation, was the only sustainable solution.
PTI leader and senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja said the Toshakhana-II verdict had come unexpectedly during a scheduled hearing, adding that the issue cut across party lines and worried the entire nation.
He said the country must decide whether to continue enduring oppression or resisting it, conveying Imran Khan’s message that the nation must prepare for a street movement.
Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said the opposition had no choice but to take to the streets, insisting that fear would not deter them and that they demanded justice strictly on merit.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch called for strengthening all national voices for free and fair elections. He demanded the annulment of the constitutional amendments approved by “an artificial majority.”
Lawyer Iman Mazari said the PTI remained the most popular party in the country because the public had given its mandate to Imran Khan. Although she is not a PTI supporter, she said she and others would support the PTI if it opted for resistance, stressing that the issue was no longer about a single leader but about the mandate of the people.
He condemned the treatment of Imran Khan’s sisters outside Adiala Jail and said such behavior, whether directed at Mahrang Baloch, Imran Khan or Ali Wazir, must be collectively opposed.
PTI president Barrister Gohar said the movement, launched two years ago, had now become an organized national voice. He alleged systematic theft of the PTI’s mandate, including the loss of reserved seats and by-elections, and said Imran had authorized Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to decide whether the opposition should seek dialogue or resistance, adding that Imran Khan and his 30 million voters supported them.
