KP CM announces preparations for countrywide movement as TTAP issues Feb 8 strike call

ISLAMABAD: As Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced preparations for a countrywide movement and that a call will soon be given, the main opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) on Sunday announced a nationwide wheel-jam and shutter-down strike on February 8, 2026.

The date coincides with the second anniversary of the 2024 general elections, in which the current PML-N government rose to power.

Claiming that the country needed a new Charter of Democracy more than ever before, the TTAP also decided to form a committee headed by Vice Chairman Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, with Haleem Adil Sheikh, Zain Shah and others to constitute committees at the provincial and district level.

The TTAP announced that it will also organise conferences at all provincial headquarters and engage bar councils, civil society and the public for efforts for the restoration of the Constitution, rule of law and democracy in Pakistan.

Those who attended today’s conference included TTAP chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, PTI leaders Asad Qaiser and Salman Akram Raja, Balochistan National Party (BNP) chief Akhtar Mengal and others.

CM Afridi, who also attended the conference, told media persons that, as per the directions of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, the preparations for the countrywide movement have been started.

“We will meet every person and will tell them to wait for the second call. We will go to Rawalpindi, Lahore, KP and other parts of the country,” he said while replying to questions.

According to the declaration from the conference, as democracy was not possible without free and fair elections, an effort would be made to ensure free and fair elections.

Participants demanded the immediate appointment of a neutral chief election commissioner and next elections be held under a reconstituted Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

They also demanded an independent investigation into the February 8 elections and to identify and punish “responsible personalities”.

Participants were of the view that the judiciary was dismantled through the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments and alleged that conscientious judges, including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Athar Minallah, and Lahore High Court Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza, were forced to leave the institution, with arrangements made to sideline the remaining judges.

They further alleged that most recently, action was taken against Islamabad High Court Judge Justice Tariq Jahangiri, who was removed from his office over a fake degree. The conference claimed that these officials demanded to restore the judiciary in accordance with the original 1973 Constitution.

The conference also condemned the convictions against the PTI founder and his wife and the “inhumane treatment” of Imran’s sisters, including “their being attacked by water cannons.”

Additionally, the participants demanded the release of prisoners, including Imran, his wife Bushra Bibi and PTI leaders Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Ejaz Chaudhry, Yasmin Rashid and Sarfraz Cheema, among others.

TTAP also condemned the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca), alleging that it was passed to curtail media freedom, additionally showing concerns over the economic strangulation of Dawn Media Group.

Moreover, the participants expressed complete solidarity with journalists who “lost their jobs under the system” and denounced the narcotics case against journalist Matiullah Jan. The cases registered against lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatha, were also condemned.

The opposition was also of the view that statements and reports regarding the deployment of Pakistan’s armed forces in Gaza reflected “alarming non-transparency”. They demanded that the nation be taken into confidence before any decision was made.

The conference additionally cited the World Bank, claiming that over 44 per cent of Pakistan’s population lived below the poverty line, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports indicated corruption amounting to Rs 5,300 billion. They assailed the government for failing to curb unemployment, inflation, and poverty and lacked a roadmap for relief.

The TTAP also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Sindh and Balochistan and demanded the release of Baloch Yakjehti Committee chief Dr Mahrang Baloch and other Baloch detainees.

The opposition alliance demanded the implementation of unanimous resolutions passed by the KP Assembly Jirga and the release of outstanding federal dues to the province. It also called for lifting the ban on the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement.

They said under the 18th Amendment, minerals belonged to the provinces and that entering into international mining agreements without taking provincial governments and local populations into confidence violated it.

The TTAP also demanded the immediate restoration of student unions across the country.

In view of the ongoing national crisis, the conference unanimously agreed that the door to dialogue must never be closed in a democracy.