Addressing the conference, senior PTI leader Junaid Akbar called on the government to step back from confrontation and choose dialogue over hostility.

He said the time had come for both sides to correct their mistakes and make a fresh start for the sake of the country.

‘Let us sit together,’ he said. ‘You fix your ways, we fix ours, and we move forward. What you are doing to the country will not bring good results.’ He added that the latest court verdict had made one thing clear: justice is no longer seen as fair or equal.

Junaid Akbar said public confidence in the courts has badly eroded. He argued that personal rivalry against one individual has widened gaps and fueled hatred in society. ‘Today, the voter no longer matters, the one who counts the vote does,’ he remarked, using a sharp phrase that drew applause from the audience.

He warned that no matter how strong oppression may seem, governance will ultimately be shaped by the Constitution and the rule of law.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, speaking at the conference, said injustice did not begin with recent constitutional amendments. ‘We were denied justice even before the 26th amendment,’ he stated.

He cautioned those currently in power against false confidence, saying that power is temporary and accountability eventually reaches everyone.

Sohail Afridi further said that PTI’s founding chairman and his wife are innocent and are being targeted through what he described as fabricated cases. He criticized the growing trend of using courts and cases as political tools, calling it a dangerous habit that weakens democracy.

He emphasized that political parties should remain political, not become instruments of others. ‘This is a struggle to strengthen democracy,’ he said.

The two-day conference also featured speeches by leaders of the opposition alliance, including its head Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who echoed concerns over democratic decline, political intolerance, and the need for genuine rule of law.

The conference ended with a clear message: without justice, trust cannot survive, and without trust, democracy cannot move forward.