• Achakzai calls those violating Constitution ‘security risk’, says Nawaz sidelined for following law
• Opposition alliance leaders visit Minar-i-Pakistan; supporters denied entry

LAHORE: The Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) has appealed to the people to take to the streets on Feb 8 to oppose “fascism, restore the Constitution, and safeguard the country’s sovereignty”.

“Those playing with the Constitution of Pakistan are a security risk,” TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai said while speaking to journalists at the Lahore Press Club on Saturday.

Mr Achakzai invited people from all walks of life to join the movement for the restoration of the Constitution and to take to the streets on Feb 8, marking the second anniversary of the February 2023 elections. “If we do not come out on the roads to stop fascism, restore the Constitution and the country’s sovereignty on Feb 8, we will all be responsible for Pakistan’s downfall,” he warned.

Flanked by TTAP Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Haqooq-i-Khalq Party chief Ammar Ali Jan and Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Mr Achakzai said powerful quarters had blocked the natural process of leadership development through suppression, leading to internal crises. Unlike other countries, he said, courts had even snatched a political party’s election symbol.

Referring to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, the TTAP chief said the former PM had tried to follow the constitutional path but was sidelined and punished with a 10-year forced exile.

Expressing hope that history would forgive him, Mr Achakzai said he had conveyed to Mr Sharif and would also speak to incarcerated PTI chief Imran Khan that the next democratic government should honour judges who did not surrender to pressure and instead resigned from their positions, by conferring upon them the title of “Heroes of Democracy”. He said such judges should eventually be restored all the privileges they had given up in their struggle to uphold the Constitution, judiciary and courts.

Responding to a question, Mr Achakzai said Pakistan could approach the United Nations to convene a round-table conference involving Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and China to discuss issues and find solutions. “No country alone can find and implement solutions,” he added.

Allama Nasir Abbas said the “powerful” were blocking all avenues for reform and denying people their right to protest. “If the powerful block all ways to bring reforms, the people will rise to dismantle the oppressive system,” he warned. He said the martial laws imposed by Gen Ziaul Haq, Gen Pervez Musharraf and the current “undeclared martial law” were responsible for abrogating the Constitution.

Calling on people to join the movement, he said the TTAP had been launched to restore the Constitution and empower citizens to claim their due rights.

Ammar Ali Jan formally announced his party’s decision to join the TTAP movement for the restoration of the Constitution and democracy. He lamented that parliament had been rendered dysfunctional, the judiciary weakened and the media shackled. He said the country’s GDP was stagnant, more than 40 per cent of the population lived below the poverty line, educated and skilled youth were leaving the country, while a few companies were earning billions of dollars in profits.

He said the people of Pakistan had the right to decide who should represent and rule them, rather than having state institutions decide the fate of the country and its citizens. “Those who work within their defined responsibilities will earn respect and honour from the people,” he said, adding that those who crossed their limits would face resistance and chaos.

Former senator Khokhar said people’s lives had been ruined by the suppression of opposition. “When you push the opposition against the wall, people themselves rise and assume the role of opposition,” he said, citing the example of Azad Kashmir, where an elected government was deposed.

Later, a TTAP delegation, led by Mr Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas, visited Minar-i-Pakistan and spoke to journalists. Local authorities allowed the delegation to enter the historic site but barred its workers and supporters who chanted slogans against the Punjab government.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Achakzai called on the people to take to the streets on Feb 8 to stand against oppression and fascism and restore true democracy, as envisaged in the Lahore Resolution. He said anyone who suspends or alters the Constitution is liable to punishment under Article 6.

Allama Nasir Abbas said the delegation had come to Minar-i-Pakistan to send a message that the country belongs to its people, and that everyone must come forward to save it from the clutches of oppressors. He asserted that the fascists would ultimately be defeated by the people of Pakistan.

Mustafa Nawaz Khokar said the Punjab government had effectively turned Iqbal Park into a “no-go area” for the public on weekends, noting that the Pakistan Day Resolution was passed at the park.

The TTAP leaders also chanted slogans like “Hum zulm mitanay niklay hein, aao hmaray saath chalo”.

The TTAP delegation also met people on city streets in the night and urged them to join the movement, close shops and observe a wheel-jam on Feb 8. They also distributed pamphlets prepared by the PTI Punjab across city streets, roads and at people’s residences.

The delegation also visited Mazar-i-Iqbal and Bibi Pakdaman to pay homage.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026