Ali Wazir: What Does the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement Want? // Memphis Barker: 'Are you with the tyrants?' Pakistani Che risks all to take on the army
The past few months
have transformed my life. Amid the agonies I have endured and the threats,
suspicion, and accusations I face, the love, support, and respect I receive is
overwhelming.
Since February, when
we began protesting to draw attention to the suffering of ethnic Pashtuns -among the worst victims of terrorism - I have learned a lot about the potential
of ordinary Pakistanis. Their thirst for change is inspiring and heralds a
peaceful, prosperous future we must build for generations to come.
As a Pashtun activist
demanding security for Pakistan’s second-largest ethnic group, the most
rewarding thing I have gathered is that peaceful protests and mobilization can
still change societies and transform states for the better. I have learned that
right trumps wrong. Pacifism overcomes violence and wars. And, ultimately, the
truth prevails over lies and deception. In a modern state,
protection and welfare of all its citizens - irrespective of their caste and
creed - is the first and foremost responsibility of all its institutions. This
is the crux of what our organization, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) or
Movement of the Protection of Pashtuns, has set out to achieve by articulating
key demands and mobilizing masses to ensure our state fulfils its most basic
responsibilities.
My personal ordeal
best illustrates what prompted our demands. I was pursuing a degree in law at
the turn of the century when my hometown, Wana, the headquarters of South
Waziristan agency, became the epicenter of global terrorism when a host of
Taliban-allied groups sought shelter in our communities. No doubt the
terrorists had some individual local facilitators, but ultimately it was the
state that failed to prevent them from using the territory. When my father, the
chief of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, and other local leaders complained of their
presence, government officials ignored and silenced them. Instead, Islamabad spent
years denying the presence of any Afghan, Arab, or Central Asian militants.
By 2003, the militants
had established a foothold in South and North Waziristan tribal agencies and
were attempting to build a local emirate. My elder brother Farooq Wazir, a
local political activist and youth leader, became the first victim of a long campaign
in which thousands of Pashtun tribal leaders, activists, politicians, and
clerics were killed with near absolute impunity. Their only crime was to
question or oppose the presence of dangerous terrorists in our homeland.
In 2005, I was in
prison when my father, brothers, cousins, and an uncle were killed in a single
ambush. I was there because a draconian colonial-era Frontier Crimes
Regulations (FCR) law holds an entire tribe or region responsible for the
crimes of an individual or any alleged crime committed in the territory. I had
committed no crime, never got a fair trial, and was not sentenced, yet I was
prevented from participating in the funerals for my family. In the subsequent
years, six more members of our extended family were assassinated. The
authorities have not even investigated these crimes let alone held anyone
responsible. While Pakistani leaders are keen to project the “sacrifices” their
compatriots made, no one has ever sympathized with us. We faced economic ruin
after all of the notable men in our family were eliminated. The government
failed to prevent the militants from demolishing our gas stations... read more:
https://thediplomat.com/2018/04/what-does-the-pashtun-tahafuz-movement-want/
Authorities have been cracking down on social media and five liberal bloggers were abducted in January last year, resurfacing weeks later claiming they had been tortured by state security agencies. The government has denied any involvement. Raza Khan, an activist who promotes peace between India and Pakistan, is believed to have been abducted last month in Lahore and is still missing. Pakistan is ranked 139th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index maintained by Reporters Without Borders...
'Are you with the tyrants?' Pakistani Che risks all to take on the army
Every morning Ahmed Shah puts on his circular, red-and-black cap, decorated with spades, and feels ready to take on the world. “For me this cap is a symbol of resistance,” he says. “That’s why I like it.”
Shah (not his real
name) is one of thousands of Pakistanis who have taken to wearing the
distinctive tribal hat to show their support for Manzoor Pashteen. The charismatic
26-year-old, rarely seen without his “Pashteen hat”, leads the Pashtun
Protection Movement (PTM), which has convulsed the country with unprecedentedly
virulent criticism of the powerful armed forces.
It accuses the
military of being behind a litany of abuses in the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (Fata), an inhospitable, mountainous region on the
border with Afghanistan dominated by Pakistan’s 15-million-strong
Pashtun minority and which has played host to a variety of terrorist groups. Although Pashteen is
committed to non-violent protest, his youthfulness, firebrand speeches and
distinctive headgear have drawn comparisons with Che Guevara. What marks the
PTM out as a particular threat to Pakistan’s army, which has ruled the country
for more than half its 70-year history, is that its allegations mirror those
made by western officials, namely that the army plays a “double game” with
regard to terrorism, silently supporting groups that target India and Afghanistan. The government has
responded with a crackdown, banning rallies and harassing PTM supporters. Nine
PTM activists have gone missing in Karachi, Pakistan’s southern business
capital. At a rally last weekend in Swat, pro-military protesters tried to
block entry to some of a 25,000-strong crowd.
Even the “Pashteen
hat” has been subjected to local, unofficial bans. Replicas can no longer be
found in the Swat valley city of Mingora, where at least five shopkeepers
selling the hat were recently detained and beaten by thugs
associated with the military, locals say. At a rally in Lahore
on 21 April, held in defiance of the government ban, Pashteen bowed his head
like a boxer as minders escorted him through an exultant, selfie-taking crowd
to a stage adorned with pictures of missing people... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/02/pakistani-army-manzoor-pashteen-pashtun