ISLAMABAD: Opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Saturday rejected certain changes suggested to Article 243 of the Constitution under the 27th Amendment, claiming they were “person-specific”.
Yesterday, hours after the Constitution (Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Act 2025 was tabled in the Senate, the TTAP announced a nationwide protest movement against the proposed legislation starting today.
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who leads the alliance, TTAP Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addressed a joint press conference in Islamabad.
“Fundamentally, the concept of social contract implies how the state will take care of an individual’s basic rights. This is what the Constitution is all about,” Khokar noted. He stressed the concept of separation of powers provided in the 1973 Constitution, which meant that “no one institution will become so strong as to overpower other institutions”.
“Social contracts have nothing to do with personalities. The amendments to Article 243 of the Constitution are person-specific. They have been drafted by keeping in view the benefits of one position, the position of the field marshal,” Khokhar claimed.
Among the various proposals in the 27th Amendment bill are changes to the military leadership structure by rewriting Article 243 of the Constitution (command of the armed forces).
The bill proposes creating the post of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and abolishing the long-standing office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), which was the top military role. If passed, the Amendment would also make the army chief the constitutionally recognised CDF, placing him at the top of Pakistan’s armed services.
The proposed legislation also vests broader, constitutionally protected powers and privileges in the country’s top military leadership.
Khokhar also termed the proposed lifetime immunity for the president from criminal proceedings as “person-specific”, quipping that the “theatre of the absurd” left the TTAP in surprise.
“These have no connection to the public […] half of Pakistan has gone below the poverty line, but the political, military and judicial elite are making amendments in the Constitution to protect themselves and attain their interests,” the former senator alleged.
“Why should we not think that this is to reward the existing judges in the Supreme Court whose retirements are due,” he added, contending that it was the duty of every segment of society to oppose such legislation.
Khokhar detailed the TTAP’s movement against the proposed Amendment, which included a National Consultative Conference to be held in Islamabad next week, where the future plan of action will be decided.
Khokhar stressed that the fundamental objection to the amendments was that the parliament was “not a representative” of the public as the “mandate was manufactured”, reiterating the rigging allegations during the February 2024 general elections.
The former senator also recalled the “way the 26th Amendment was passed”, indirectly referring to the claims of the PTI and the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) of their leaders being pressured to vote in favour of it.
Khokhar also criticised the Supreme Court for playing the “most important role” in the preparations for the 27th Amendment by allotting the reserved seats to the ruling coalition parties. The ruling, given by the court’s Constitutional Bench formed under the 26th Amendment, struck down an earlier SC verdict that had declared the PTI eligible for those seats.
“They (coalition partners) then got the required number [of lawmakers], as a result of which today they are about to pass the 27th Amendment,” the politician contended.
“We can’t shy away from the facts before us. This parliament does not have the ethical or legal legitimacy to carry out such big amendments,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, Achakzai contended that the SC judges should have summoned those parties involved in the Amendment for “attacking the Constitution”. “Until the judges do this, we will take this case of Article 6 (high treason) before the public’s court.”
Addressing the media, the MWM chief detailed the suggested changes to Article 243 and said, “You are giving all the power to one person and making them the head of all, and giving them lifetime immunity. They are making another god.”
Abbas underscored the need for checks and controls on powers, adding that the country was “heading towards fascism”. He alleged that the public’s mandate was “stolen” in the 2024 elections.
“You have destroyed the parliament, as well as the judiciary, and now where are you taking the institution that has to protect Pakistan’s borders?” Abbas said.
“We promise our public to challenge this amendment as much as we can,” he asserted.
Course of action
Later, the opposition alliance also shared its planned course of action to resist the proposed legislation.
The TTAP said in a statement that a “national consultative conference” would be called in Islamabad to devise a strategy, adding that in case of the approval of the bill, a black day would be observed the next day after the development over the “violation and demolition of the Human Contract of 1973”.
It also urged “judges having conscience” to express their stance and reservations over the proposed legislation through letters or in press conferences.
The statement further stated that following the 27th Amendment, the Constitution would no longer be the one agreed upon in 1973 but “an insurance policy for protecting and prolonging the power of Pindi, Lahore and Larkana”.
In this connection, the TTAP stressed that either the Constitution be restored in its original form, as it was till the promulgation of the 18th Amendment, or a debate should be started in Pakistan for a new human contract.
A plan should be presented at the meeting in Islamabad for holding rallies and corner meetings across the country, and an initiative for building public opinion should be undertaken by forming a committee to begin meaningful consultation with and gain support of civil society, media and business community.
“Such committees should be formed up to the union council level and hold meetings with the influencial representatives of trader associations and neighbourhoods and farmers’ bodies.
“Article should be written for local and international newspapers and magazines to present the case of the people of Pakistan on a regular basis,” the statement read.
It further said that the participation of lawyer bodies in this movement should be ensured, and a delegation should be constituted to convince the retired judges of Supreme Court and high courts to participate in the movement or at least gain their support.
PTI parliamentary leader Barrister Ali Zafar has contended that the debate on the bill was inappropriate in the absence of a notified leader of the opposition. He accused the government and its allies of being in a “hurry” to pass the amendments.
However, the PML-N and the PPP have rejected the impression that the 27th Amendment bill was rushed through without proper debate, saying the draft has undergone “extensive scrutiny”.
