PTI announces lawyers’ movement against proposed 27th Amendment

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser on Sunday announced that the party will launch a lawyers’ movement in opposition to the anticipated 27th Constitutional Amendment, which he described as a threat to democratic principles.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Islamabad alongside Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) head Mahmood Khan Achakzai and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair, Qaiser said the PTI would also consult legal experts on the 26th Constitutional Amendment. He recalled that the party had opposed the 26th Amendment during parliamentary proceedings in October last year and had staged a walkout during the vote.

Qaiser alleged that the country’s governance system is “neither legal, constitutional, nor democratic,” and criticised the disqualification of PTI lawmakers. He claimed that the National Assembly was “being controlled” and likened it to a “drama,” adding that lawmakers were facing restrictions on visiting prisons despite parliamentary rules allowing such visits.

Achakzai, addressing the same press conference, cautioned that altering the Constitution could undermine Pakistan’s stability.

Zubair stated that the current political system had failed to address public concerns and rejected past claims that Pakistan was close to default.

He said statements about sacrificing politics to save the state were unfounded.