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TTAP Marches on Supreme Court Against 27th Amendment
Opposition alliance TTAP marches from Parliament House to Supreme Court, rejecting the 27th Amendment and vowing a nationwide movement to “restore constitutional supremacy”.
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by Muhammad Hashir
2025-11-18
TTAP Marches on Supreme Court Against 27th Amendment

Opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Tuesday marched from Parliament House to the Supreme Court in Islamabad as part of its nationwide protest movement against the recently enacted 27th Constitutional Amendment.

The amendment, signed into law on November 13, has sparked severe criticism from opposition parties, legal experts, bar associations, and former and sitting judges, many of whom have described it as an assault on judicial independence and a restructuring of state institutions without consensus.

Opposition Leaders Lead Protest March

Dozens of political workers and leaders gathered outside Parliament House before marching toward the Supreme Court on Constitution Avenue. Prominent TTAP leaders — including Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, and PTI Senator Faisal Javed — led the procession.

TTAP Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai was also present, as were senior political figures such as ex-senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokar, former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI MNAs Zain Qureshi and Junaid Akbar, BNP-M’s Sajid Tareen, Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai, and PTI lawyer Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry.

Protesters carried banners reading “Death to dictatorship, long live democracy”, “27th Amendment rejected”, and “Subjugation of the judiciary is the public’s subjugation”. Many also waved PTI flags and chanted slogans echoing Habib Jalib’s revolutionary poetry: “Aise dastoor ko nahi maantey, subh-i-be-nur ko nahi maantey.”

Leaders repeatedly chanted, “The battle will persist till the judiciary’s independence.”

Achakzai Announces National Conference, ‘Black Day’

Speaking to the media, Achakzai announced that TTAP will host a national conference on the 27th Amendment, inviting judges, lawyers, journalists, academics, and civil society. He reaffirmed the alliance’s plan to observe a nationwide “Black Day” on Friday, November 21, condemning the amendment.

Achakzai strongly opposed the lifetime immunities granted to the president and the army chief under the amendment, arguing that no individual in an Islamic republic can be exempt from accountability. He insisted that while all institutions — judiciary, military, and civilian departments — must work independently, they must ultimately remain answerable to an elected parliament.

Opposition Vows Continued Resistance

Former NA Speaker Asad Qaiser said TTAP leaders and civil society groups would meet next week to outline the next phase of protests. In a post on X, Qaiser accused the government of “disfiguring the unanimous Constitution of 1973 through force and horse-trading” and pledged to resist amendments that undermine judicial independence.

PTI’s Salman Akram Raja condemned the amendment as an “attack on the judiciary and the people,” claiming it erodes citizens’ rights to privacy, security, and property.

Yesterday, PTI MPAs in Punjab held a separate protest march from the provincial assembly to Charing Cross, while TTAP also plans to present a resolution against the amendment in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

A Growing Opposition Bloc

Formed in April last year, the TTAP is an alliance of six opposition parties, including the PTI. The coalition formally structured itself earlier in July and pledged to support and lead all anti-government protests. The latest demonstrations mark an escalation in the alliance’s strategy to oppose what it considers unconstitutional changes introduced through the 27th Amendment.
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OppositionProtests

JudicialIndependence

27thAmendment

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