• Asad says will approach lawyers, diplomats; ‘regrets’ Bajwa extension
• Achakzai warns against ‘tampering with Constitution’

ISLAMABAD: As speculations regarding a new constitutional amendment gain traction, the PTI has decided to make use of all available options, including a lawyer movement, to block the potential tweaks to the Constitution, said senior party leader Asad Qaiser on Sunday.

Speaking at a press conference in the federal capital alongside the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan head Mahmood Khan Achakzai and former PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair, the PTI leader said the opposition party would contact the legal community to discuss all options to block the amendment and could also throw its weight behind a lawyers’ movement. In this regard, the party will first meet the Islamabad bar, he added.

He further said the PTI would reach out to foreign diplomats and embassies to discuss the supposed 27th Amendment and organise seminars to raise awareness on the matter. He said they would raise their voice in parliament, and courts would be approached as well, despite the fact that the judiciary was allegedly taking decisions under pressure.

Mr Qaiser said it was unfortunate that martial law had practically been imposed in Pakistan, warning that the country could not be run through a ‘hybrid system’.

“Then there’s also a show in the assembly. The way it’s being controlled and the way its system is being run, as well as the way parliamentarians are being humiliated in front of Adiala Jail, is concerning. I have conducted some research into this matter and will bring it up before the National Assembly. “According to our own rules, it is written that any MNA can inspect prisons. Is it just written down or can it actually be enforced?” he asked as per Dawn.com.

Mr Qaiser demanded that the cases against PTI founder Imran Khan should be decided on merit. “If the trials are decided on merit and there is live coverage in the media, the nation will see what a drama this is.”

In a statement posted on his X account last month, PTI chief Imran Khan had criticised the supposed amendment. “Instead of going through the formality of introducing a 27th constitutional amendment through a sham parliament, it would be better to openly declare a monarchy, because what exists today is outright dictatorship, forcibly imposed on the country,” he had said.

During the presser, Mr Achakzai warned that the foundations of the country would be shaken if there were changes to the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Mr Zubair, the former Sindh governor, claimed that Pakistanis were against the current system and wanted to raise their voice against it. He also said that the claims of the government functionaries that country was going to default during the PTI tenure “were not correct”.

In response to a question, Asad Qaiser admitted that the PTI’s move to extend the tenure of former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa was the “biggest mistake” of his party and he “apologised” to the nation on his party’s behalf. He claimed that his party would never support any such extension in the future.

According to Mr Achakzai, the doors for extension should be closed for good. He said that it was unfortunate that legislators were not allowed to meet Imran Khan, claiming that when he had gone to meet former premier Nawaz Sharif in jail, there were lots of people, giving the impression of a political gathering.

He also questioned why National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq did not take any action when lawmakers were arrested on the assembly premises last year. In a late-night raid, several PTI lawmakers had been whisked away from parliament, prompting an inquiry by the speaker.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2025