TTAP Deputy Chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas addresses the media along with Alliance Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai after arriving in Lahore on Thursday, January 8, 2026. SCREENGRAB
LAHORE:
A convoy of Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) reached Lahore on Thursday despite police action, arrests and obstruction along the route as the opposition alliance pressed ahead with its street mobilization campaign ahead of the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024 general elections.
The delegation, led by TTAP Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai, left Islamabad earlier in the day via GT Road and entered Lahore in the evening. The alliance said several of its workers were detained during the journey, while vehicles in the convoy were vandalized in several places.
“Despite fascism, oppression and all obstacles, the caravan of TTAP successfully reached Lahore,” the PTI Punjab chapter said in a post on X.
According to TTAP, containers were placed by the Lahore administration to block routes near Data Darbar, while police action was reported in Gujar Khan, Gujrat, Kharian, Wazirabad and Lahore. The alliance claimed that “dozens” of workers belonging to Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), a TTAP constituent party, were arrested in Lahore, including MWM Senior Vice President Syed Hussain Kazmi.
TTAP also claimed that the son of MWM chief and TTAP vice-chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas was taken into custody. However, a Gujranwala police official denied the arrest, saying he was briefly stopped for questioning after a police officer was hit by a vehicle linked to a PTI rally and later released.
The PTI, which condemned what it described as “fascism and repression” by the Punjab police, alleged that peaceful party workers were detained and that the vehicles of PTI legislators Malik Fahad, Raja Tanvir and Sardar Muhammad Ali were vandalized near Kharian. The party also alleged that unidentified persons damaged convoy vehicles in Gujrat.
In a separate statement, the PTI alleged that late night raids were conducted on the homes of its workers in Lahore and claimed that a party worker, Rashid Yousuf Jan, died during a raid in Hanjarwal. The party demanded the immediate release of all “unjustly arrested” individuals and accountability for what it called unconstitutional actions.
Addressing workers after reaching Lahore, Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that the movement had been initiated to restore the constitution and rule of law. He urged the public to raise their voices against repression and warned that delayed action would lead to further casualties.
Earlier, while addressing supporters in Jhelum, Abbas alleged that the public mandate had been stolen in the 2024 elections and said the alliance would take to the streets across the country on February 8 in protest.
Speaking before leaving for Lahore, Achakzai said the movement would remain peaceful. “We are not going to conquer anyone or throw stones. We are here to stop oppression and cruelty,” he said, calling on the public to stand with the opposition against what he described as an imposed parliament.
Achakzai, who has been nominated as the next opposition leader in the National Assembly, said the country was facing deep political and economic crises due to what he called flawed decisions. He appealed to citizens to observe protests on February 8 and urged traders and transporters to close shops, rickshaws and taxis in solidarity.
TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain said Achakzai and Abbas would stay in Lahore for three days. Former Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and former Speaker of the National Assembly Asad Qaiser are also expected to participate in political activities during the visit.
According to Lahore High Court Bar Association President Asif Nuswana, Achakzai will address lawyers of Lahore Bar and Lahore High Court Bar on Friday (today) after Jumma prayers on the invitation of Insaf Lawyers Forum.
TTAP’s street campaign coincides with calls by opposition parties to mark February 8 as a “black day” marking two years since the 2024 general election, which they claim was marred by fraud and rigging. The alliance has also reiterated demands for an independent judiciary and electoral commission, the release of political prisoners and renewed dialogue to ease political tensions.
