KARACHI: Asking the people of Sindh to join their upcoming nationwide protest call to mark the second anniversary of the general elections on Feb 8, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) leadership said that the protesters would not resort to violence.

“We don’t want a civil war in the country. Let’s make Pakistan a democratic country, where people have the power, and there is rule of law and the Constitution,” said Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and TTAP head Mahmood Khan Achakzai while speaking at a programme organised by the Sindh High Court Bar Association on Monday.

Speaking at the programme titlted ‘Protecting the Basic Structure of the Constitution’, he said that although the “spirit of freedom is being crushed among the youth”, the TTAP protesters would not resort to violence on Feb 8.

“We are not here to fight people. Countries are not run at gunpoint. The Constitution is the social contract with the people. Injustice breeds disharmony among people. We want the formation of a new Pakistan, where there is no cruelty,” he said.

On last day of their Sindh visit, TTAP leadership speaks to lawyers at SHCBA programme, visits Gul Plaza

Monday was the last day of the TTAP leadership’s Sindh visit as part of the street mobilisation drive ahead of the Feb 8 nationwide protest call of the alliance to commemorate the second anniversary of the general elections.

The opposition leader was of the view that there was a need to make “a new and democratic Pakistan” where the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution must prevail.

He said that people of all races and languages should be treated equally as the country was facing difficulties because of “rogue and arbitrary behaviours”.

The head of the TTAP also stated that they were a group of decent people and that the line of respect should not be crossed in politics, adding that the small provinces had also rendered sacrifices in the freedom movement for Pakistan.

The opposition leader was also of the view that there was no accountability for the expenditure of funds received through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.

About the inferno at Karachi’s Gul Plaza shopping mall, he asked why the building did not have emergency exits. He said that this issue should be investigated and those responsible should be brought to justice.

Mr Achakzai further contended that the PTI founder Imran Khan had won the 2024 general election, but his way to power was blocked, which was not only unconstitutional but also religiously incorrect.

Criticising the government, the vice chairman of the opposition alliance, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen said that the Constitution has been made “controversial”, maintaining that people were losing confidence in the rulers and the public was facing oppression.

“The entire system is being employed for unlawful acts,” he alleged and said that the 26th and 27th Amendments to the Constitution were latest assault on fundamental rights and democratic as well as judicial freedoms.

In an indirect reference to the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, he was of the view that the three pillars of the state were weakening.

Highlighting the strategic location of Pakistan in the region, he termed it the “heart of Asia” and further claimed that global powers have always tried to keep the country under their control.

PTI leader Asad Qaiser said that the country could not make any progress the way it was being run. He also alleged that the government was interfering in lawyers’ bodies and efforts were being made to weaken the voice of lawyers.

“The executive has become an authority over the judiciary and the trust of people in the judiciary is eroding”, he added.

The PTI leader also lamented the “unfair distribution of resources” in the country, adding that the situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan was “chaotic”.

He further maintained that the 1973 Constitution had been discarded and said the TTAP would need everyone’s support for the upcoming protest to “restore the judiciary and establish the Constitution’s supremacy”.

The vice president of the opposition alliance Syed Zain Shah, president of SHCBA Haseeb Jamali and others also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the TTAP leadership visited Gul Plaza to express their deep sorrow over the loss of life and property caused by the devastating fire. They described the incident as a national tragedy.

Demanding a judicial inquiry into the catastrophe, Allama Abbas said: “Had the system been effective, dozens of families would not today be wandering from place to place in search of their loved ones.”

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2026