Islamabad, December 20, 2025: Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) and chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, on Saturday lamented that the Constitution and the law had been “torn to shreds” in the country and called for the sovereignty of Parliament to be acknowledged.
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 TTAP, an alliance of opposition parties.
The opposition bloc announced the conference after Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry criticised PTI founder Imran Khan for promoting what he termed “anti-army” rhetoric, describing it as a national security threat rather than a political issue.
“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,” Achakzai said. He added that hopes of constitutional supremacy being established had steadily faded.
Calling for collective political action, Achakzai urged all political forces to rise above party interests and power considerations to formulate a consensus roadmap. He posed what he termed a fundamental question: “Is this country meant for the military, or is the military meant for the country?” and questioned the justification for any constitutional exemptions.
On negotiations with the government, Achakzai said clarity was needed regarding interlocutors, agenda and conditions. He stressed that the first prerequisite for talks was the immediate lifting of restrictions on meetings with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan by his family, lawyers and political leaders.
“Despite court orders, meetings with Imran Khan are being restricted, while those who go to meet him are subjected to state violence and cases are registered against them — an outright injustice,” he said. He also remarked that no army could win a war without public support and appealed to political parties and civil society to help steer the country out of what he described as a dead end.
‘Martial law has been imposed,’ says Gohar
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, addressing the conference, claimed that a “martial law has been imposed in the country,” alleging the erosion of judicial independence.
“When courts cannot do justice, judges cannot protect themselves, and civilians cannot find protection in courts, the judiciary becomes irrelevant,” he said, questioning how the supremacy of the Constitution and law could be upheld under such circumstances.
Referring to a verdict announced earlier in the day sentencing PTI founder Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison, Gohar said the decision had plunged the country into despair. He alleged that PTI leaders were facing successive convictions, amounting to decades in prison, in what he described as politically motivated cases.
“This is the first time in the country’s history that a person has been convicted multiple times in one case,” he said, referring to the Toshakhana matter, adding that it was evident “even to a law student” that decisions were being dictated from elsewhere.
Gohar said PTI supporters had refrained from protests in the hope that justice would prevail, but warned that continued denial of justice could force people to find their own path.
The first day of the conference was attended by a wide range of political leaders and civil society representatives, including PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Asad Qaiser, BNP chief Akhtar Mengal, Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Javed Hashmi, Mohsin Dawar, Afrasiab Khattak, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, journalists, lawyers and activists.
