PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Wednesday, flanked by Vice Chairman Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar. SCREEN GRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Even as the administration moves to tighten security and curb mobilization to deter the opposition’s strike call, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its allied opposition platform, the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), on Saturday confirmed their decision to go ahead with their planned nationwide day of protest and both a blackout day and a day of strike on February 8. Grief.
The government launched a crackdown on PTI workers and leaders who have gone underground to avoid arrest. In addition, the administration also imposed section 144.
Speaking at a joint press conference with senior opposition leaders, Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas lamented that the attack, carried out during prayers inside a mosque, betrayed the state’s failure to protect its citizens.
He said innocent worshippers, including university students, were martyred in the blast, pointing out that the tragedy occurred in the heart of the federal capital and not in any remote or conflict-affected region.
“This was an attack carried out while people were on their knees,” Abbas said, adding that for decades Pakistanis had grown up witnessing bodies fall to terrorism.
He lamented that feasts were often held over the corpses of ordinary citizens and questioned the purpose of ongoing security operations, asking where and how such operations were actually carried out.
Abbas rejected any sectarian portrayal of the violence, stressing there was no Shia-Sunni divide in the country and accusing hostile elements of deliberately trying to pit communities against each other.
He argued that until power was transferred to the people, conditions would not improve. Announcing the opposition’s programme, he said February 8 would be observed as both “Youm-e-Siyah” (Black Day) and “Youm-e-Sog” (Day of Mourning), while a nationwide protest would be held the following Friday.
PTI leader Salman Akram Raja said that February 8, 2024 marked the introduction of what he described as a system of injustice and deceit. He called the present moment one of collective grief and said the opposition stood with the oppressed and wanted to express its rejection of what he called “thieves” who had usurped public mandate.
“Our vote has been stolen,” Raja said, adding that a system built on oppression could not endure. He maintained that the protest would also be a rejection of all forces acting against the state and the constitutional order.
Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser said more than 3,000 Pakistanis had fallen victim to terrorism in just one week, declaring the government a complete failure in its primary responsibility to provide security.
He urged authorities to focus on governance instead of trying to break political parties, and reiterated that Shiites and Sunnis remained united in the country.
Qaiser stressed the need for constitutional and legal supremacy and confirmed that the protests would continue as planned.
Former Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said there was hardly a day without a violent incident in the country, adding that serious issues required serious answers. He criticized the culture of issuing religious judgments against political opponents and said such divisions should be dismantled.
Khokhar warned that failure to unite would lead to recurrent bloodshed and he called for an All Parties Conference (APC) to forge a consensus policy against terrorism. He said the country faced simultaneous challenges of economic collapse and deteriorating law and order, pointing to Balochistan where violence was followed by routine political transitions without accountability.
He appealed to the public to remain indoors on February 8, observe a day of mourning and express opposition peacefully.
TTAP chief and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, wrote a cautionary note calling for restraint and reflection. He said the country was reaping what it had sown by making Pakistan a battleground for other people’s wars, recalling the long-term outcome of the Afghan conflict and the killing of over 1,300 tribal elders in the former Fata.
Achakzai said coercion had no place in religious or political affairs and argued that Pakistan’s crisis was the result of its own collective actions involving not only politicians but also institutions such as the military and bureaucracy. He argued that the country’s 250 million people had been terrorized with guns and that injustice could not sustain a state.
He called out inequities in compensation, saying those who sold loyalty were rewarded with billions, while the poor were left with token payments after losing their lives. Addressing the police forces of Punjab and Sindh, he urged them not to act as “slaves” but to stand with the people.
Appealing to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join the nation in mourning, Achakzai urged citizens to avoid emotional reactions and insisted the protest would remain peaceful.
