Opposition leaders vow to continue moot despite ‘govt pressure’

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leaders declared on Wednesday that their conference was an “FIR” against those who tried to block their efforts to defend the Constitution, vowing to proceed with the event the following day despite alleged threats directed at the hotel management.

Co-host of the conference, along with Awam Pakistan party, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, said, “Our conference is an FIR against those who are stopping us from defending the Constitution. We will hold the conference tomorrow [Thursday], no matter what. If anyone wants to demolish the hotel or arrest us, let them do it. We will continue our fight to defend the Constitution.”

He was speaking to the media after the conference, along with other opposition leaders. Achakzai, head of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), accused the government of pressuring the hotel administration to cancel the second day of the event. However, he affirmed the conference would go ahead as planned, emphasizing that they would continue to battle against undemocratic and unconstitutional forces in a democratic manner.

During the event, political leaders, scholars and media representatives engaged in discussions on the current political landscape and national issues.

Former prime minister and Awam Pakistan party convener, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, stressed that the conference focused on national issues, rule of law and the Constitution. He expressed regret that a government exists today afraid of the Constitution and even a small conference held in a closed room.

Abbasi stated that after the first day of the opposition conference, the hotel management informed them that intelligence or administrative officials had visited and threatened the hotel owners. “They were told that if we continued with the conference, the hotel would face millions in fines and could even be shut down,” he said.

He said that the hotel, which primarily caters to lawyers and is linked to the Supreme Court, had initially agreed to host the conference. However, they were later told they could not hold the event the next day due to external pressure. “Despite this, we informed the hotel management that we had booked the venue for two days, and that this was a national conference focused on the Constitution. If anyone is pressuring you, then let them know we are exercising our constitutional right,” Abbasi asserted.

He criticised the government’s actions as a sign of its weakness and failure, saying, “The fact that they are afraid of the Constitution and of a small conference like ours is proof of their insecurity.”

He also responded to a supplement published by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) in newspapers that day, noting the irony that a government spending billions on advertisements would be afraid of a conference. “This is their total performance,” he said, adding that the situation reflected the current state of the country and the failure of the two main ruling parties, which have governed for the last 50 years, with some of them, including himself, having been part of these very parties.

Leader of the Opposition Omar Ayub addressed the conference, highlighting discussions led by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Mahmood Khan Achakzai centred on the integrity of Pakistan, survival of the Constitution and the country’s future. He stated that lawyers, intellectuals and politicians came together to discuss ways to strengthen Pakistan. Omar Ayub strongly condemned the pressure placed on the hotel administration to cancel the event, saying, “If they [PM Shehbaz Sharif or Mohsin Naqvi] come, we will definitely confront them, and as the opposition leader, I will go straight to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.”

Sahibzada Hamid Raza, head of the Sunni Ittehad Council, echoed Omar Ayub’s sentiment, saying, “We’ve always said the programme would continue, and today, no one has spoken against the state. We are not allowed to speak in parliament, on the streets, or at seminars, are we not Pakistanis?”

PTI leader Asad Qaiser highlighted the importance of the Constitution in the conference, stressing that regions like Balochistan and Sindh were in turmoil, while the country’s economy and law and order were in decline. “We want to unite the people under the Constitution. This movement will continue; we are not slaves,” he declared.

Earlier, Mahmood Khan Achakzai opened the conference by addressing the lack of grassroot benefits from independence, lamenting that many Pakistanis were excluded from governance decisions. He also criticised the handling of February 8 elections as a severe violation of the Constitution, arguing that democracy could only thrive if the supremacy of the Constitution was upheld.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi decried the government’s fear of the Constitution, saying it was evident in their efforts to block the conference. He expressed concern over the state of political stability and the growing suppression of voices in the country, asserting that when political parties abandon their principles, the nation suffers. He further criticised laws aimed at suppressing dissent, raising alarm over the state of justice in Pakistan.

Separately, speaking in Geo News programme, former premier and convener Awam Pakistan party Shahhid Khaqan Abbasi confirmed that there were differences among the opposition parties, which have representation in the parliament. And, when specifically asked about the PTI and JUIF, he noted that differences between the two parties still existed for the process was a bit lengthy.

“They have to consult Imran Khan, who is in jail. There have been two or three meetings between the two sides and they have named Kamran Murtaza and ex-speaker NA Asad Qaisar but mutual differences are still there,” he explained in reply to a question.

He said being a big political party, the PTI had the right to agitate, and they might take to streets. But “we have nothing to do with it”. He said, “We are trying that all opposition parties adopt the same thinking to play their role of opposition, as both the government and opposition have done nothing during the last one year.”

Shahid Khaqan said the opposition had a role to play and they wanted to define that role, putting aside their own differences for the opposition parties have fought election against each other.

Meanwhile, Senator Kamran Murtaza, a senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUIF), said on Wednesday his party’s reservations before joining the grand opposition alliance had not been addressed yet. The JUIF did not participate in the first day proceedings of the two-day conference of the opposition parties. In his message on ‘X’, Kamran Murtaza said the reservations, which were conveyed to the PTI leader Asad Qaisar, had not been responded despite passage of 15 days.

However, he added, a JUIF delegation, led by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, is participating in the grand opposition’s conference. He said the JUIF had developed working relationship with the PTI but could not move forward unless the party leaders and workers are satisfied.

Meanwhile, the federal government has rejected claims by the opposition parties of barring an Islamabad hotel from hosting the two-day Grand Alliance Conference, asking them to name the “official or minister” who asked its administration to revoke permission for the moot.

“If the opposition has the perseverance to speak the truth, so they must speak truth...which minister or government official gave the orders to the hotel administration,” Prime Minister’s aide on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah asked while speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.

The statement came hours after the opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, accused the government of “threatening the hotel’s administration” it would revoke permission for the second day of the moot, which was being held at the venue.

“There was nothing which was against the state nor was there any talk of incitement. Just talks on the Constitution and the rule of law,” former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while speaking to journalists after the completion of the first day of the moot in Islamabad.

The meeting was attended by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Awam Pakistan’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen’s (MWM) Nasir Shirazi and others.

He noted that the conference was not in the streets with the participation of hundreds of thousands. “The hotel administration told us that they were threatened that permission for the second day of the moot would be revoked. When we asked the administration to give us in writing why the conference could not be held for the above reason, they [staff] expressed their helplessness,” he added.

However, he said, the alliance has decided that the conference will definitely take place tomorrow. “This is our constitutional right and we are talking about the Constitution,” he added.

Speaking during the programme, Sanaullah said that the hotel staffer may have made up the statement, adding that the staffer may himself not want to host the conference. “The hotel staffer may not agree with the conference,” he added. “From deputy commissioners to commissioner or ministers, tell us who gave the orders,” he asked the opposition.

When asked about the opposition alliance, he apparently welcomed it and said if the alliance is formed, there would be an agenda and course of action.

“Whether Khaqan, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, or Achakzai lead it, sanity will prevail...there would be a political dialogue or political sense. The alliance would hold dialogue with the ruling coalition and matters would be resolved,” he said.

The PM’s aide noted that people like Abbasi, Fazl or Achakzai would sit at the table with the government instead of carrying out arson or violence.