- Imaan Mazari Human-rights lawyer Sentenced to 10 years · Anti-Terrorism Court, 29 Oct 2026 · Day 1
- Hadi Ali Chattha Human-rights lawyer Sentenced to 10 years · Anti-Terrorism Court, 29 Oct 2026 · Day 1
- Mahrang Baloch Balochistan rights activist Detained
- PTI political prisoners Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Detained
- Awami Action Committee Leaders and members Detained
- The missing Across every province Held without being brought before a court
A non-violent, citizen-led movement
The military is not the state.
فوج ریاست نہیں ہے
or drag it aside
Moving a barrier is not terrorism.
On 29 October 2026 an Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced human-rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha to ten years each. The act prosecuted was moving a barrier.
Preamble
The state is the people of Pakistan under the Constitution. The armed forces are its instrument, not its owners.
Pakistan was founded as a democratic state. Its Constitution vests sovereignty in the people, exercised through elected representatives, with the armed forces under civilian authority. Repeated interventions by the military — in politics, judicial appointments, elections, the media and the running of state institutions — have hollowed out that promise.
The 26th Amendment (2024) and the 27th Amendment (2025) concentrated power in the military high command and created parallel judicial structures. Criticism of the military is treated as an attack on the state itself. We reject that equation.
This is the last chance to bring about change through peaceful, constitutional means — before the situation slips beyond everyone’s control, and the entire country pays the price.
Core demands
Six demands.
Each one asks the state to obey a Constitution it already has.
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سویلین بالادستی
Civilian supremacy
The armed forces go back to defence, under civilian command — out of politics, elections, the media and business.
Article 245Read in fullDemand 1
Civilian supremacy, and the army back to barracks
The armed forces shall confine themselves to external defence and legally authorised internal security roles under civilian command. All political interference, electoral engineering, media management, economic decision-making, and institutional capture by the military shall end. The Chief of Defence Forces structure and any associated immunities that place military leadership above ordinary law and civilian oversight shall be reversed. The practice of equating the military with the state itself shall cease.
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آزاد عدلیہ
Independent judiciary
Repeal the 26th Amendment. Judges, not politicians or generals, decide who sits on the bench.
PreambleRead in fullDemand 2
Restoration of an independent judiciary
Immediate repeal or reversal of the 26th Amendment and every subsequent constitutional amendment that altered judicial appointments, limited the Chief Justice’s tenure by political process, removed or restricted the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction, created constitutional benches under political influence, or established parallel courts that dilute the Supreme Court’s authority. Judicial appointments shall return to a system in which judges form the decisive majority and the principle of seniority is respected. Courts must be free to interpret the Constitution without fear of executive or military retaliation.
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آزاد اور منصفانہ انتخابات
Free and fair elections
Every party and every candidate can stand. No engineering, no stolen symbols, no military role.
Article 218Read in fullDemand 3
Free and fair elections
Every political party and every eligible individual shall have the unrestricted right to contest elections. No party or candidate shall be disqualified, stripped of symbols, or prevented from campaigning through administrative or coercive means. The Election Commission shall operate with genuine independence. Results shall be accepted without post-election engineering. International and domestic observers shall be freely admitted. The military shall have no role in the conduct, supervision, or outcome of elections.
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ریاستی اداروں پر سویلین کنٹرول
Civilian control
Intelligence agencies, police and the bureaucracy answer to elected ministers and Parliament.
PreambleRead in fullDemand 4
Civilian control of all state institutions
Intelligence agencies, police, bureaucracy, public-sector enterprises, and regulatory bodies shall operate under civilian ministers and parliamentary oversight. No unelected institution shall exercise veto power over policy, appointments, or elections.
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اظہارِ رائے، صحافت اور اجتماع کی آزادی
Speech, press & assembly
Criticise anyone in power without fear. A free press. The right to protest. No shutdowns.
Articles 16 & 19Read in fullDemand 5
Freedom of speech, of the press, and of peaceful assembly
Every citizen shall enjoy the unrestricted right to express political opinions, criticise the government, the military, the judiciary, and political parties without fear of arrest, disappearance, or online or offline harassment. The press shall operate free from censorship, licensing threats, advertising boycotts orchestrated by the state, and ownership capture. Journalists shall not be abducted, tortured, or prosecuted for reporting. Citizens shall have the right to organise and participate in peaceful public assemblies, protests, and marches. Blanket internet shutdowns, mobile-service blackouts, and the preventive use of force against non-violent gatherings shall be prohibited. Permits for assemblies shall be issued on a content-neutral basis.
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سیاسی قیدیوں کی رہائی
Free every political prisoner
Stop calling peaceful dissent terrorism. Release everyone held for their politics.
Article 10ARead in fullDemand 6
End the weaponisation of sedition and terrorism charges. Release every political prisoner.
The state shall stop using sedition, anti-state, terrorism, cyber-crime, or similar charges against citizens solely for political activity, peaceful protest, journalism, human-rights advocacy, or criticism of government or military policy. Such charges shall not be a substitute for ordinary criminal law when no actual violent offence has occurred. Official narratives that convert non-violent political activity into “terrorism” or “anti-state” activity shall not be treated as conclusive.
The 29 October 2026 Anti-Terrorism Court sentence of 10 years each to human-rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha is a clear example: the act of moving a barrier was prosecuted and punished as terrorism.
All individuals detained solely for political activity, peaceful protest, journalism, or human-rights advocacy shall be released immediately and unconditionally, or given prompt, open trials before independent courts with full due process. All missing persons across Pakistan held in custody must be brought before a competent court without delay, with access to a lawyer, protection from torture, and a fair trial. Every person must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Quotations are from the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.
Political prisoners
Rehai means release.
Everyone detained solely for political activity, peaceful protest, journalism or human-rights advocacy must be released immediately and unconditionally — or given a prompt, open trial before an independent court.
None of them has been involved in violence.
And every other person held under similar political charges. No one shall remain imprisoned on the basis of political affiliation, ethnicity or dissent.
Principles
They took an oath. So do we.
“I will not engage myself in any political activities whatsoever.”
Constitution of Pakistan, Third Schedule
The pledge every member of this movement takes
- I will remain non-violent and respect the law, even when the law is imperfect.
- This movement belongs to citizens, and I am one of them.
- The military is not the state. Criticism of any institution is not an attack on the state.
- Free expression, and freedom from prison for peaceful politics, are not privileges granted by those in power. They are conditions of legitimate government.
- I choose peaceful change now — the only way to prevent a future in which everyone loses.
Call to action
This movement belongs to citizens.
Lawyers, students, trade unions, women’s groups, farmers, business associations, journalists and ordinary citizens — across all provinces. Add yourself.
Political parties and organisations that accept these principles can join as equals. Endorse as an organisation