TTAP deputy leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addresses the media alongside alliance leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai after arriving in Lahore on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
LAHORE:
A Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) convoy reached Lahore on Thursday despite police action, arrests and obstructions along the route, as the opposition alliance continued its street mobilization campaign ahead of the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024 general elections.
The delegation, led by TTAP President Mahmood Khan Achakzai, left Islamabad earlier in the day via GT Road and entered Lahore in the evening. The alliance said several of its employees were arrested during the trip, while convoy vehicles were vandalized in several places.
“Despite fascism, oppression and all obstacles, the TTAP caravan managed to reach Lahore,” the PTI Punjab chapter said in an article on X.
According to TTAP, containers were placed by the Lahore administration to block roads near Data Darbar, while police actions were reported in Gujar Khan, Gujrat, Kharian, Wazirabad and Lahore. The alliance claimed that “dozens” of workers belonging to Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), a constituent party of TTAP, were arrested in Lahore, including MWM senior vice-president Syed Hussain Kazmi.
TTAP also alleged that the son of MWM leader and TTAP vice president Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was arrested. However, a Gujranwala police official denied the arrest, saying he was briefly detained for questioning after a police constable was hit by a vehicle linked to a PTI rally and was later released.
The PTI, condemning what it called “fascism and oppression” by the Punjab police, claimed that peaceful party activists were arrested and vehicles of PTI legislators Malik Fahad, Raja Tanvir and Sardar Muhammad Ali were vandalized near Kharian. The party also claimed that unidentified individuals damaged convoy vehicles in Gujrat.
In a separate statement, the PTI claimed that night raids were carried out on the homes of its workers in Lahore, claiming that a party member, Rashid Yousuf Jan, died during a raid in Hanjarwal. The party demanded the immediate release of all those “unjustly arrested” and accountability for what it called unconstitutional actions.
Addressing the workers after reaching Lahore, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said the movement was launched for restoration of the Constitution and rule of law. He urged the public to raise their voices against oppression, warning that delay in action would lead to further sacrifices.
Earlier, while addressing his supporters in Jhelum, Abbas had claimed that public mandate was stolen in the 2024 elections and said the alliance would take to the streets across the country on February 8 to protest.
Speaking before leaving for Lahore, Achakzai said the movement would remain peaceful. “We are not going to defeat anyone or throw stones. We have decided to end oppression and cruelty,” he said, calling on the public to stand with the opposition against what he described as an imposed Parliament.
Achakzai, who was named the next leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said the country was facing deep political and economic crises due to what he called wrong decisions. He called on citizens to observe the February 8 protests, calling on traders and transporters to close shops, rickshaws and taxis in solidarity.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain said Achakzai and Abbas would stay in Lahore for three days. Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser are also expected to participate in political activities during the visit.
According to Asif Nuswana, President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Achakzai will address the lawyers of the Lahore Bar Association and the Lahore High Court Bar Association on Friday (today) after Jumma prayers, at the invitation of the Insaf Lawyers Forum.
TTAP’s street campaign coincides with calls from opposition parties to consider February 8 a “black day” marking the second anniversary of the 2024 general elections, which they say were marred by rigging and manipulation. The alliance also reiterated its demands for an independent judiciary and electoral commission, the release of political prisoners and renewed dialogue to ease political tensions.
