Protests against Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment continued into this week, with politicians and activists staging marches in Islamabad and Lahore.
In Islamabad, members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) from the Pakistan Tehreek-e‑Insaf (PTI) gathered outside the Punjab Assembly after submitting a request for a debate on the amendment. PTI’s Secretary General, Salman Akram Raja, led the protest, carrying the party’s flag and a placard that read “We reject 27th Constitutional Amendment.” He called the amendment a threat to the judiciary, saying it would turn courts into tools of the ruling government. Raja vowed that PTI would keep fighting on the streets for the judiciary’s respect, for the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and for the country’s future.
Opposition Leader Moeen Riaz Qureshi said the march was organized at the direction of the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP). He criticized the amendment as a move by the so‑called “Form‑47 government” to tighten power over the judiciary and the public.
Two days earlier, activists from the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and its women’s wing, Sindhiyani Tehreek (ST), staged a protest in Sindh. They also targeted the new amendment as well as corporate farming, new canals on the Indus River, honour killings, and the exploitation of Sindh’s resources. The gathering started on Jail Road and ended at a local press club where PAT leaders—Vasand Thari, Noor Ahmed Katiar, Lal Jarwar, Dr. Rasool Bux Khaskheli, and Abdul Qadir Ranto—addressed supporters.
Thari slammed the 27th Amendment, calling it worse than the post‑hybrid system and an attack on democracy. He warned that the amendment would distort the Constitution, suspend fundamental rights, and allow the ruling elite to plunder Sindh’s minerals more easily. The protesters adopted resolutions that the constitution had been twisted, courts were crippled, and the amendment granted lifetime immunity to the president and former field marshal, effectively elevating them above law and ordinary citizens.
The protests follow the signing of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill by President Asif Ali Zardari on November 13th. The bill had already passed both houses of Parliament, and its approval has officially made the changes part of Pakistan’s constitution.
These demonstrations illustrate growing opposition across Pakistan to the government’s constitutional reforms and the perceived erosion of judicial independence.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
