Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, or the Pashtun Protection Movement, is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Formerly called the Mahsud Tahafuz Movement, it was founded in May 2014 by eight students at Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan as an initiative for removing landmines from Waziristan and other parts of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, affected by the war in North-West Pakistan.
During PTM's public demonstrations and sit-ins, several demands were presented to the Pakistani government and military, including punishment to the retired police officer Rao Anwar, a truth and reconciliation commission on extrajudicial killings in the country, presenting missing persons before courts, and removal of landmines from the Pashtun tribal areas. The movement is led by Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, a human rights activist from South Waziristan. Other prominent leaders include Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar. PTM claims to be an unarmed and peaceful resistance movement working within the lawful boundaries of the Constitution of Pakistan. However, the Pakistan Army and several journalists have claimed that the movement is trying to create discord in the country along ethnic lines, as well as following a foreign agenda. The movement has seen strong support from neighboring Afghanistan, which traditionally has an uneasy relationship with the government of Pakistan.
Background
Formerly named the "Mahsud Tahafuz Movement", the movement rose to prominence in January 2018 when it began a justice movement for Naqeebullah Mehsud, who was extrajudicially killed in a fake encounter staged by the police officer Rao Anwar in Karachi. When the movement gained popularity among the Pashtuns in late January 2018, the word "Mahsud" in its name, which referred to the Mahsud tribe from Waziristan, was changed into "Pashtun" to refer to all Pashtuns.In November 2018, PTM launched a justice movement for Tahir Dawar, a police officer and Pashto poet who was abducted from the capital Islamabad and tortured to death, with his corpse found 18 days after disappearance in the Dur Baba District of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. PTM, as well as Tahir's family, demanded that Tahir's murder must be investigated through an international commission rather than a Pakistani one because the case involved two countries. PTM again gained international press coverage in February 2019 when the Balochistan Police allegedly extrajudicially murdered one of the leaders of PTM, Arman Loni, in Loralai. Protests followed which led to the detention of more than 20 PTM activists, including Gulalai Ismail and Abdullah Nangyal. In May 2020, after the assassination of PTM leader Arif Wazir, another wave of widespread protests was held during which several PTM activists, including Gilaman and Nadeem Askar, were arrested by Pakistani authorities.
Pashtun Long March
Islamabad sit-in
On 26 January 2018, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement organized a protest march starting from Dera Ismail Khan. Pashteen started the march along with 20 friends, but many people joined it along the way, as it passed through Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Domel, Karak, Kohat, and Darra Adam Khel, reaching Peshawar on 28 January. Then after passing through Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, and Tarnol, the march reached Islamabad, where a sit-in called "All Pashtun National Jirga" was organized from 1 February outside the National Press Club. The jirga condemned the murder of the Pashtun labourer and aspiring model, Naqeebullah Mehsud, who was shot dead by police force in Karachi during an alleged encounter, and the alleged state oppression against the Pashtuns. It asked the government to set up a judicial inquiry for Naqeebullah Mehsud, as well as for all the other Pashtuns murdered extrajudicially in police encounters. The jirga demanded to stop racial profiling of the Pashtuns in Pakistan, and to bring the Pashtun missing persons before the court of law, so that those who are innocent but held could be freed. The jirga also demanded Pakistan Army to guarantee that they will not abduct or open fire on innocents in the tribal areas, or use violence or collective punishment against entire villages and tribes, and that they will not impose the frequent curfews on the movement of locals even after minor incidents. Another demand was to remove all landminess planted in the tribal areas, which have resulted in many civilian casualties. The protesters said that since 2009, more than 35 people including children had been killed due to landmines in South Waziristan alone.The sit-in in Islamabad ended on 10 February, but the organizers of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement announced that they would reconvene the protest if their demands were not fulfilled by the government. Advisor to Prime Minister on political affairs, Engr. Amir Muqam appeared in front of the protesters with the hand-written agreement from the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that included three clauses, agreeing to apprehend Rao Anwar, speed-up the clearing of Mines in South Waziristan, an intermediate college establishment in name of Naqeebullah Mehsud, and promised to addressed "genuine gravencies" raised by Jirga members. Muqam also told the protestors, "the way you held the peaceful protest is really commendable and others should learn a lesson to record their protests this way. I’ll stand by you in trying times and you can come to discuss with me all of your legitimate issues anytime."
Main demands
The main demands of PTM presented during the Pashtun Long March's gatherings in 2018 included, among others:- Rao Anwar and other police officers involved must be punished for the alleged murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud
- A truth and reconciliation commission must be established for all the people who are killed extrajudicially like Naqeebullah Mehsud in alleged fake encounters by the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan
- The missing persons who are imprisoned at unknown places must be tried in a court of law, and forced disappearances must be stopped
- Landmines must be removed from the Pashtun tribal areas
- Torture and collective punishment against entire villages and tribes in the Pashtun tribal areas, especially after a violent incident, must be stopped
- The humiliation of locals at army checkpoints in the Pashtun areas must be ended
Public gatherings
Media blackout in Pakistan
Mainstream media outlets in Pakistan have been largely ignoring the PTM, leaving social media as the primary channel for communicating with the rest of Pakistan and strengthening the narrative that the PTM is being ignored by the system.On 23 March, the PTM meeting was scheduled to be held in Peshawar University, but Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Islam Zeb, issued an order under section 144 CrPC, imposing ban on political meetings in University and stated any violation against the order shall be preceded against u/s 188 PPC and order will be exercised "for 30 days unless modified or withdrawn." Later the meeting was held in Baghi-e-Naran, Hayatabad with 200 person attending the gathering.
The movement's anthem is "Da Sanga Azadi Da?", which means "What kind of freedom is this?". Many Pashtun's have discovered their voice with this anthem and it encloses the various grievances they have from being caught between the militants and the military.
On 26 April 2019, Mohsin Dawar tweeted that he and his fellow National Assembly member Ali Wazir were barred from holding a press conference at National Press Club despite having prior bookings. Many prominent politicians including Pakistan Peoples Party's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Farhatullah Babar and Bushra Gohar condemned NPC for their move. The next day, NPC issued statement claiming that the lawmakers had not made any prior bookings. The Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told the journalist Hamid Mir not to invite PTM members on media in response to a question by the journalist as to whether the media houses should invite PTM leaders on TV channels. On 29 April 2019, Asif Ghafoor said PTM would no longer be tolerated. "Their time is up," he said of PTM at the press conference.
Pashteen hat
The Pashteen hat has become the most iconic symbol of PTM, as Manzoor Pashteen regularly wears it at public rallies and events.Kharqamar incident
On 26 May 2019, PTM members including the Pakistani parliamentarians Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir were protesting in the Kharqamar area of Datta Khel Subdivision, North Waziristan. According to the PTM members, the military forces allegedly fired on the PTM protest gathering killing more than 13 protesters and injuring 25 others. However, the Pakistani military officials rejected PTM claims and stated that it was PTM members who attacked Pakistan military post first and military only fired back in retaliation. According to Pakistani military, five Pakistani soldier were injured as result of PTM members firing. Dr. Alam, a close aide of Mohsin Dawar and one of the leader of PTM, admitted that security guards accompanying Mohsin Dawar were heavily armed. Following the incident several PTM members, including the Pakistani parliamentarians Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, were arrested by the security forces after the incident and curfew was imposed in the area. PTM claimed that the gathering had been organized by peaceful and unarmed activists to protest against the beating up of a woman by the military on May 25 and other human rights abuses in the area, but the military alleged that the PTM leaders instead wanted to “exert pressure for release of suspected terrorists’ facilitators”.According to Pakistani rules, 'if an army check post is assaulted, the troops are legally allowed to respond to the attack. Those who are responsible for the attack will tired by the Pakistani courts.'
A day after this incident, the opposition walked out of the National Assembly of Pakistan to protest against this violent incident. The opposition parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League, questioned the silence of Prime Minister Imran Khan and other concerned people on the incident and called for resolving the issue by the civilians through the parliament. On 23 June, a fact-finding team of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was stopped by the military from reaching Kharqamar and prevented from investigating about the incident.
Controversy
PTM openly criticizes the Pakistan Army and accuses the Pakistani state of violating the basic human rights of the Pashtuns, while the Pakistan Army has claimed that PTM is backed by foreign powers and their gatherings are "engineered". PTM claims that as a result, news organizations in Pakistan have been pressured to ignore PTM, and university professors have been forced to identify the students attending PTM's protest gatherings. Some Pakistani politicians and journalists also view PTM as working on a foreign or Pashtun nationalist agenda. However, PTM's leadership has openly declared that they are protesting through peaceful means within the Constitution of Pakistan.Founder of Aware Girls, Gulalai Ismail, was threatened with death by the Inter-Services Intelligence after she joined the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement and protested against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings by the Pakistani state. After raising awareness of sexual assault committed by Pakistani security forces on women, Gulalai Ismail fled the country as police forces were on their way to arrest her.
Leaders of PTM including Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar have been criticized for making controversial remarks about other ethnic groups of Pakistan. Mohsin Dawar in a tweet stated that the policeman who arrested him was a "...Punjabi with an ugly face". Ali Wazir has also been criticized by Pakistani media for stating that Lahore and Rawalpindi were "terrorist hotspots" demanding United States attack them in a speech in Charsadda. Based on these remarks Information Minister of KPK, Shaukat Ali Yousafzai demanded him to be removed from National Assembly proceedings.Manzoor Pashteen himself used a racial slur in a rally in Peshawar. Pashteen’s racist remarks and provocative language in front of a charged crowd stunned his supporters and sympathisers, too.