‘Usurpers’ undermined Constitution: TTAP

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Aiyeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) on Monday accused the government of making the Constitution controversial, weakening parliament and the judiciary, and allowing ‘usurpers’ to take control of key state institutions.

The opposition alliance’s top leaders — including its chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Asad Qaiser, Sajid Tareen, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, and Akhundzada Hussain Yousafzai — visited the Judicial Complex, offered Fateha for the victims of the recent blast, and expressed solidarity with the legal fraternity.

Speaking to the media, Senator Nasir Abbas questioned who was behind the attacks in Chilas, Babusar Top, Quetta, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, insisting that “the nation deserves to know the truth”.

He said the recently passed 27th Constitutional Amendment was incompatible with the Quran and Sunnah, alleging that granting lifetime immunity to any individual amounted to “rebellion” against Islamic law. Those who supported or voted for the amendment, he claimed, had deviated from clear religious teachings.

Criticising the silence of political leaders on past injustices, he said, “We become mute here; no voice is raised before the oppressors. A man imprisoned under 300 false cases faced continuous persecution, yet those who should speak remained silent.”

He vowed that the alliance would continue its struggle for the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law and justice, and would resist all forms of “state oppression and unconstitutional acts”.

Former National Assembly speaker and senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser said that while a suicide attack had taken place outside an Islamabad court, the government remained busy “manufacturing cases against its opponents”. He criticised the administration for failing to send any official to the Judicial Complex after the blast.

Qaiser said the government must ensure a security plan that allows lawyers and citizens to perform their duties safely. Strongly condemning the attack, he alleged that the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments had “completely paralysed” the courts.

“We have decided to raise our voice forcefully against the 27th Amendment. Our constitutional and legal protest will be held on Friday, and I believe everyone will participate,” he announced.

He added that the opposition had expected the PPP to uphold the spirit of Bhutto’s Constitution and rise above personal political interests, and had also hoped PMLN leader Nawaz Sharif would stand by his commitment to “respect the vote”, but “both compromised”.

Qaiser further alleged that false propaganda was being spread against their party founder and his wife, urging that it be stopped immediately. Separately, hundreds of lawyers in Lahore Monday staged a rally to protest the newly passed 27th Amendment to the Constitution, voicing serious concerns over its implications for judicial independence and the rule of law. The rally was led by Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) President Asif Niswana from LHC Judges gate to GPO Chowk.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Salman Akram Raja and Intizar Hussain also participated in the rally. Earlier, the LHCBA held a meeting and discussed the implications of the 27th Amendment. Various lawyer leaders as well as PTI’s Salman Akram Raja spoke at the meeting. They declared the Amendment illegal and unconstitutional. Later the lawyer rally participants dispersed peacefully.