Islamabad: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has sharply criticised Pakistan’s 27th Constitutional Amendment, branding it a “conspiracy against the Islamic Constitution” and harmful to the country’s interests, local media reported on Wednesday.
The amendment came under heavy scrutiny during a provincial executive committee meeting held by JUI-F in Peshawar. According to The Express Tribune, the party’s provincial General Secretary, Senator Maulana Attaul Haq Dervish, told members that the 27th Amendment had fulfilled all legal and constitutional procedures.
Provincial Ameer Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman, however, maintained that the amendment was passed “under pressure” and argued that provisions removed under the 26th Amendment had now been restored. The executive committee unanimously dismissed the 27th Amendment as “unconstitutional.”
Political opposition to the amendment has been mounting across Pakistan. The bill—approved by both houses of Parliament and signed by President Asif Ali Zardari on November 13—now stands incorporated into the Constitution.
On Tuesday, the Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-Pakistan (TTAP) opposition alliance marched from Parliament House to the Supreme Court in Islamabad, announcing plans to observe a nationwide “Black Day” on Friday against what it called “ongoing constitutional violations.” Alliance member Allama Raja Nasir Abbas told reporters that the rally symbolised their effort to safeguard the Constitution, saying people had been denied justice. He claimed that freedom of expression was being stifled and fundamental rights ignored, according to a report by Geo News.
Protests have also intensified in Punjab, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Members of the Provincial Assembly marched from the Punjab Assembly to Charing Cross on Monday. Led by party secretary-general Salman Akram Raja, lawmakers carried party flags and placards reading “We reject 27th Constitutional Amendment” after submitting a requisition demanding debate on the issue. During the demonstration, Raja criticised the amendment and alleged that the judiciary had been targeted, arguing that a subservient judicial system could not protect vulnerable groups, Dawn reported.
Earlier, on November 16, activists from the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and its women’s wing, Sindhiyani Tehreek (ST), held a separate protest. Their demonstration also addressed concerns over corporate farming, new canals on the Indus River, honour killings and what they described as exploitation of Sindh’s resources. Beginning at Jail Road and concluding at the local press club, the rally featured speeches from party leaders, including PAT President Vasand Thari, who called the 27th Amendment “worse than the post-hybrid system and an attack on democracy,” Dawn reported.
