October 9, 2024
By Staff Report
LAHORE
Despite a ban imposed on it, the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) continues to gear up for its three-day Pashtun Qaumi Jirga (public gathering) scheduled for October 11. And now the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Secretary has issued a warning to both government officials and the general public, advising them to avoid any involvement in the moot. The notice says that holding an event by a proscribed organisation and participation in it was not permissible under the law.
Meanwhile, PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen took to X’ to talk about the violence on the jirga participants.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police attack on the Pukhtun Jirga (at) Khyber ground [sic], street firing,” he posted. “So far, there are reports of the ‘martyrdom’ of three comrades and (of) dozens of injuries. In addition to Khyber, incidents of police firing on the jirga attendees in other districts, one martyred and several injured as a result of firing in South Waziristan. There were also confirmed reports of firing on convoys in North Waziristan. Roads have been blocked in various districts, but still people are moving ahead by crossing the barriers.”
Pashteen said that late at night, the army and police attacked the ground. From that time, their intention was bloodshed, but we vacated the ground for (reasons of) peace. When they did not have any other reason, they started firing and shelling on our comrades and supporters sitting at a distance and wounded and martyred friends. He condemned that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government did not even give one notice to the police to stop.
“No, not at all, because everyone is playing their role according to the ‘script’ to fulfil their desire and shed the blood of the Pakhtuns,” he said, addressing in particular General Asim Munir, PM Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. “By shedding the blood of innocent Pakhtuns in Pakhtunkhwa today, do you feel content? Or will there be more bloodshed?”
“Employees of all government departments/attached departments/police/autonomous and semi-autonomous public sector institutions and their employees are informed, and stand informed, that participation, overt or covert, physically, financially or otherwise in any programme or activity of a proscribed organisation is unlawful and shall be acted against under the law,” it reads, issuing the same to the “general public, including all segments of society”.
Orders were also issued to the heads of educational institutes to apprise students on the consequences of participating in the Jirga.
It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Interior on Sunday, October 6, imposed a ban on the PTM, citing threats to national peace and security.
Khyber district: Section 144 imposed
Apart from a ban on the PTM, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Khyber district, Captain (Retd) Sanaullah Khan, also imposed Section 144 in the region, which prohibits any public assembly of more than four people as well as displaying weapons, across the district for 30 days.
The notification cited the present security situation and threat alerts received from various sources as a justification for imposing Section 144.
“Anyone found violating it (Section 144) would be proceeded against under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) within the respective area of the district’s jurisdiction,” reads the notification issued by DC Khyber on Tuesday, October 8.
Meanwhile, sources on the ground have reported that mobile internet services have been suspended in and around the venue of the three-day Jirga in Jamrud.
‘Jirga to be held in any case’
Responding to the restrictions imposed by the authorities, PTM Chief Manzoor Pashteen said it has become a crime for Pashtuns to even gather and demand peace.
In a post on X, he said that state institutions are digging pits at the venue to prevent them from holding the Jirga, however, he reiterated that the PTM will hold the Jirga at any cost.
خیبر جرگہ گراونڈ پر پختونخوا پولیس اور حصہ دار کا قبضہ ہے۔
ہیوی مشینری کے ذریعے ریاستی ادارے گراونڈ میں گھڑے کھود رہے ہیں تاکہ گراونڈ میں پشتون قوم مل بیٹھ کر اپنے امن اور حقوق کے لئے جرگہ نہ کر سکے۔
ریاست پاکستان میں پشتونوں کو اپنے امن اور وسائل کے لئے محص بیٹھنا بھی جرم ہے۔…
— Manzoor Pashteen (@ManzoorPashteen) October 9, 2024
Meanwhile, reports are emerging of alleged clashes between PTM activists and security personnel at the venue ground, with a yet-unknown number of injured people.
‘BAN on PTM condemnable’
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Asad Qaiser, the former National Assembly Speaker and a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) condemned the government’s decision to ban the PTM, and emphasised the need for dialogue with the rights movement in order to address their concerns.
“PTM has invited us to join their Qaumi Jirga. We will make our decision after reviewing its agenda,” he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the KP Government, Barrister Saif, has questioned the silence of the federal government representatives on the matter, and demanded why they are ‘hiding their faces’ instead of addressing the issue.
He went on to say that the provincial government’s agenda adheres to the rule of law.
What is the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement?
In 2013, a group of student activists launched a grassroots movement in South Waziristan for the right to life and property, mainly for the Mehsud, a Pashtun tribe. The movement was led by Manzoor Pashteen, and was called the Mehsud Tahaffuz Movement (MTM) which demanded the demining of the geographical area where the Mehsud lived, along with impartial investigations and trials of those involved in the enforced disappearances of the tribesmen, the ending of humiliating practices against locals at security checkpoints, extortions, and targeted killings—whether by the Taliban or whether in military operations—and the provision of fair compensation for properties damaged as a result of the conflict.
The MTM was later renamed Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), after the extrajudicial killing of an internally displaced person (IDP), Naqeebullah Mehsud, by Karachi Police in January 2018, and the movement widened its demands to encompass all Pashtuns, not just the Mehsuds.
Recent violence against the PTM
On October 1 and 2, authorities in Jamrud, Khyber district, forcibly dispersed a peaceful protest camp using tear gas and firearms. Since then, nearly 100 PTM activists have been detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, which allows for indefinite preventive detention and up to three years of imprisonment for any speech deemed threatening to public order.
On October 4, around 16 students from the University of Malakand were reportedly arrested while preparing to join the PTM gathering. They were charged with various offences, including obstructing a public official, criminal conspiracy, and disturbing the peace, under the Pakistan Penal Code.
Since August 3, 2024, PTM leader, Ali Wazir, has been in detention. Despite being granted bail by the Lahore High Court, he was re-arrested immediately upon his release, violating the court’s order.
In response to these events, Amnesty International has urged the Pakistani government to cease its crackdown on peaceful protests and assemblies. He called for an end to the targeting of dissenting groups based on their ethnicity and a reversal of the decision to designate the PTM under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Amnesty International also demanded the immediate release of all PTM activists and supporters who have been arbitrarily detained.