Opposition alliance rejects 27th Amendment, unveils protest plan for November 21

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ain rejected the 27th constitutional amendment in its entirety, announcing a nationwide Black Day on November 21 and a series of democratic protests aimed at what it described as the “restoration of the Constitution to its original form.”

The statement comes a day after President Asif Ali Zardari signed the 27th Amendment Bill, which is now part of the Constitution, while the meeting also condemned the 26th Constitutional Amendment passed last year in 2024. The statement followed an emergency meeting of the TTAP, chaired by Mahmood Khan Achakzai in Islamabad on Friday.

The meeting was attended by senior leaders of the main opposition parties, including Asad Qaiser, general secretary of TTAP; Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, President of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen; lawyer Gohar Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI); Salman Ikram Raja, general secretary of PTI; Akhtar Mengal, president of the Balochistan National Party; Zain Shah of the Sindh United Party; Sajid Tarin of the Balochistan National Party; and TTAP Vice President Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, among others.

Following the meeting, TTAP issued a strong statement accusing the government of destroying the fundamental structure of the Constitution. Describing the 27th and 26th Amendments as an attack on the fundamental pillars of the state, he claimed that the changes had “subordinated the judiciary to the executive” and had been introduced on a “personal basis”.

Read also: President accepts resignations of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah after 27th Amendment row

The alliance claimed the amendments had effectively paralyzed the justice system. “These controversial constitutional amendments have completely paralyzed the judiciary and virtually nullified the authority and existence of the Supreme Court,” the statement said.

The meeting also paid tribute to Supreme Court judges Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah, who resigned a day earlier in protest against the 27th Amendment, calling them “oath-bound and Constitution-loving judges” while interpreting their resignation as “resistance against the plunder of the Constitution.”

The opposition bloc warned that no individual or official could be placed above the law, arguing that personal exemptions enshrined in the Constitution violated the Quran and Sunnah, as well as fundamental principles of democracy, accountability and justice. He said such exclusions had turned a previously unanimous Constitution into a subject of political conflict, calling the amendments a “heinous game” with the unity and security of the country.

Reaffirming its determination to oppose what it calls “unconstitutional amendments,” TTAP said it would use all democratic avenues to restore the Constitution to its original form. The alliance also expressed full support for the recent Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Peace Jirga declaration and demanded its immediate implementation.

Announcing the protest plan, the statement said that members of the National Assembly and Senate will march from Parliament to the Supreme Court on Monday, while a resolution against the recently passed amendment will be tabled in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on the same day. TTAP Punjab legislators will also march from the Punjab Assembly to the Lahore High Court.

The TTAP further demanded the immediate release of PTI founder Imran Khan, his wife Bushra Bibi, party leaders and workers, and activists associated with the Baloch Solidarity Committee. He called for the release of all political prisoners and pledged to continue the struggle on behalf of workers, farmers, industrialists and marginalized communities “until their rights are fully realized.”

The alliance insisted the movement would not back down until the Constitution was restored to what it described as its “true and original essence”.