ISLAMABAD: Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, said on Saturday that the Constitution and the law in Pakistan “have been torn to shreds” and called for the sovereignty of parliament to be formally recognised and upheld.

He was delivering the inaugural address at a two-day national conference titled “Protection of the Consensus Constitution: The Need of the Hour and a Way Forward through Collective Wisdom”, organised by the TTAP, an alliance of opposition parties.

The opposition alliance announced the conference after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chau­dhry criticised PTI founder Imran Khan for what he termed the creation and spread of an “anti-army” narrative, stating that such rhetoric had moved beyond politics and now posed a “national security threat”.

“The current situation in the country is such that the Constitution and the law have been torn to shreds, and raising one’s voice against it is the responsibility of eve­ry conscious citizen,” Mr Achakzai said.

TTAP conference decries ‘martial law’, says Constitution has been torn apart

He said political forces had long remained under the illusion that constitutional supremacy would eventually be established in the country, but said those hopes were now rapidly fading.

Mr Achakzai asked all political forces to rise above short-term party interests, power-sharing considerations and narrow political affiliations, and instead seriously consider a consensus course of action.

“It has now become inevitable to raise a fundamental question,” he said. “Is this country meant for the military, or is the military meant for the country? If the military is subordinate to the country, then what is the justification for constitutional exemptions?”

About the possibility of negotiations with the government, he said it must be clearly established who the talks would be held with, on what points, and under what conditions.

“The first prerequisite for paving the way for negotiations is the immediate lifting of restrictions on meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan of his family members, lawyers and political leaders,” he said.

He criticised what he described as blatant injustice, saying that despite court orders, meetings with Mr Khan were being restricted, while those attempting to meet him with court orders were being subjected to state violence and criminal cases.

Mr Achakzai noted no army could fight a war or achieve a real victory without the support of its people. He appealed to political parties, civil society and various schools of thought to step forward, raise their voices and offer suggestions to pull the country out of what he termed a political and constitutional dead end.

‘Martial law has been imposed’

PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, speaking on the occasion, claimed that a “martial law has been imposed in the country”.

“When courts cannot do justice, judges cannot protect themselves in court, and civilians cannot protect themselves before judges in open court, the judiciary becomes irrelevant,” he said.

He questioned how judges could ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law when they were unable to protect themselves.

Referring to a judgement announced earlier in the day, in which PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 17 years in prison, Mr Gohar said that “the entire Pakistan is sad”.

He said the party had hoped that convictions would come to an end by May 2025 and that the country would move towards justice. “We tolerated everything. We did not resort to disruption, did not stage sit-ins and did not take the law into our own hands,” he said, adding that the party had kept hope alive that its leader would be released and the path towards constitutionalism and democracy would open.

“Instead, every day decisions are issued that are above the law and the Constitution, spreading despair among the masses,” he added.

Speaking about the convictions of PTI leaders, Mr Gohar said their leadership had been sentenced to a combined total of around 70 years, with further cases pending that could extend the sentences to 140 years if convictions continued in a similar manner.

“Till when will these sentences be issued?” he asked, adding that judges from civil courts to the Supreme Court were no longer safe.

He also questioned the Toshakhana-related convictions, saying that gifts had already been declared and that it was unprecedented in Pakistan’s history for a person to be convicted multiple times in the same case.

“This is beyond the law and the Constitution,” he said, adding that even a law student could see that “decisions are coming from somewhere else”.

Former federal minister Javed Hashmi said the imprisonment of Imran Khan showed “they” had been left with no other weapon. He claimed there was no Constitution or rule of law left in the country and said police were entering people’s houses with impunity.

Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar termed the day a ‘‘black day’’ in Pakistan’s history, saying the country’s most popular leader and his wife had been sentenced to 17 years each. He alleged that the objective was to silence all dissenting voices and run the country “like a regiment”.

Firdous Shamim Naqvi said it had become clear that courts could not provide justice in Pakistan and suggested boycotting tens of thousands of cases registered against PTI leaders and workers.

Junaid Akram remarked that Pakistan had proved that “the person who casts the vote is not important, but the person who counts the vote is”.

Former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair said the court verdict showed that battle lines had been drawn and that proponents of dialogue should reassess their stance.

Mohsin Dawar said for the past 78 years, the country had been moving in the same circle, warning that states could not survive through such practices.

During the conference, a recorded speech of Imran Khan was played, in which he accused the PML-N of never allowing independent courts because of its desire to control institutions. On the first day of the conference, a wide range of political leaders attended, including PTI Chairman Gohar, Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, BNP chief Akhtar Mengal, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Afrasiab Khattak, Safdar Abbasi, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and Syed Zain Shah, along with journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2025