ISLAMABAD:
Opposition leaders on Saturday vehemently condemned the conviction 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 stark symptom of a wider crumbling of constitutional order, judicial credibility and democratic accountability in the country.
The condemnation coincided with broader mobilization at the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aeen Pakistan (TTAP) national conference, 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 remaining path to fight constitutional backsliding and defend democracy and fundamental rights.
Speaking at a press conference at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad, opposition leaders warned that such moves would only fuel an already latent political division and further undermine public confidence in state institutions.
They said the verdict laid bare a familiar pattern of selective accountability, in which the scales of justice seemed tipped, those in power set the terms and meaningful redress remained out of reach for ordinary citizens and political dissidents alike.
Speaking to the media, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the party unequivocally rejects the sentence passed on 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 leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai said punishing those who stood up for rights could not be called justice. He said people would inevitably question such decisions, especially in a country where massive corruption scandals involving billions of rupees are well known but largely unpunished.
He said selling or buying one’s conscience 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, asking if any 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, adding that neither the public nor Parliament mattered anymore. He claimed public rights had been effectively plundered within Parliament and accused the government of trying to demoralize the opposition, a strategy he said would be doomed to failure.
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar also condemned the conviction, saying political victimization was no longer limited to politicians.
He cited cases against lawyer and human rights activist Iman Mazari for raising issues of public interest, a narcotics case against journalist Matiullah Jan and the impeachment of Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, saying his only “crime” was moving quickly on 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, saying it had become clear that Pakistani courts were no longer delivering justice. He said PTI workers were facing some 65,000 cases and went on to suggest that courts should now be boycotted.
He warned that “fabricated verdicts” were creating a dangerous vacuum and cited a UN report saying ongoing actions were neither constitutional nor legal, but inhumane.
Zubair Umar said the opposition was deeply saddened by the convictions against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, as well as the sanctions imposed on Yasmin Rashid, Umar Sarfraz Cheema, Mian Mahmoodur Rashid and Ejaz Chaudhry.
He said the justice system had effectively been dismantled and asked who would trust verdicts handed down without proper trials. He questioned the logic of sentencing leaders over the age of 70, calling it blatant oppression, and said injustice would persist unless the government itself was challenged.
At the national conference, participants were unanimous in recognizing 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 sounded the alarm over the PECA law, which they say criminalizes freedom of expression.
Achakzai urged leaders, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Nawaz Sharif and Jamaat-e-Islami, to sit down together for dialogue, while insisting that the mandate for the February 8 elections be accepted. He said dialogue was possible only if permission was granted to meet Imran Khan, stressing that meetings with family and political leaders were a fundamental right, regardless of beliefs.
Veteran politician Javed Hashmi said nations have achieved freedom through prisons and sacrifices, adding that rights are acquired through perseverance rather than retreat. He rejected divisive politics and said dialogue, not slogans or confrontation, was the only lasting solution.
PTI leader and senior advocate Salman Akram Raja said the Toshakhana-II verdict came unexpectedly during a scheduled hearing, adding that the issue cut across party lines and concerned the entire nation.
He said the country must decide whether to continue to experience oppression or resist it, conveying Imran Khan’s message that the nation should prepare for a street movement.
Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said the opposition was left with no choice but to take to the streets, insisting that fear would not deter them and that they were demanding justice strictly on merit.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Liaqat Baloch called for strengthening every national voice for free and impartial elections. He demanded the annulment of constitutional amendments adopted by “an artificial majority.”
Lawyer Iman Mazari said PTI remained the most popular party in the country because the public had entrusted its mandate to Imran Khan. Although she was not a supporter of the PTI, she said she and others would stand with the PTI if it chose resistance, emphasizing that the issue was no longer about a single leader but the mandate of the people.
She condemned the treatment of Imran Khan’s sisters outside Adiala Prison and said that such behavior must be collectively opposed, whether it is directed against Mahrang Baloch, Imran Khan or Ali Wazir.
PTI Chairman Barr Gohar said the movement, launched two years ago, had now become an organized national voice. He alleged systematic theft of PTI’s mandate, including loss of reserved seats and by-elections, and said Imran had authorized Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to decide whether the opposition should pursue dialogue or resistance, adding that Imran Khan and his 30 million voters supported them.
