ISLAMABAD; The Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an opposition alliance of multiple political parties, announced on Saturday a nationwide protest movement beginning November 9, in response to the government’s 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, while addressing the media, said that democratic institutions in Pakistan had been “paralysed” and that the people must rise against the proposed amendment. He accused the government of attempting to give “more power to the already powerful” through the new constitutional changes.
The TTAP alliance includes Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and MWM.
PkMAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai stated that the protest campaign would begin on Sunday night, adding that their slogans would be “Long live democracy, down with dictatorship,” and “Release political prisoners.”
Achakzai said the alliance was compelled to launch the movement as the government’s proposed changes were “shaking the foundations of the Constitution.” He vowed that the TTAP would ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and that the “will of the people” would be the ultimate authority.
The protest call came shortly after the federal government presented the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Senate, backed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its coalition partners. The bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice for review.
The proposed amendment includes significant changes to Articles 175A, 191, and 243 — including the abolition of the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which would be replaced by the “Chief of Defence Forces.”
It also proposes the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court, changes in the process of appointing judges to higher courts, and lifetime immunity for the president from criminal proceedings.
