Pashtuns stage protest calling for rights
Manzoor says tribes want a judicial probe into the killing of those labelled terrorists; Maryam, Bilawal back the right of the PTM to protest in Lahore
LAHORE: Thousands of Pashtuns from Pakistan’s tribes have gathered in Lahore reiterating their call for the release of tribesmen being held by authorities on alleged links to militants.
The rally was organised on Sunday by the Pashtun Protection Movement (Pakhtun Tahafuz Movement, PTM), a group denouncing perceived highhandedness by security forces in tribal regions.
Group’s leader Manzoor Pashteen said they want a judicial probe into the killing of those labelled terrorists. He calls for issuing tribesmen identity cards and an end to disrespect of Pashtuns at security checkpoints.
The crowd, holding portraits of their missing loved ones, chanted slogans against the security forces.
The group has protested since January after the extrajudicial killing of a young aspiring model Naqeebullah Mehsud from the tribal area in Karachi.
LEADERS’ SUPPORT
Meanwhile, ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal and Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-N) leader Senator Pervez Rashid on Sunday backed the right of the PTM to protest, a day after a number of its leaders and allies were held in Lahore following the district administration’s refusal to allow them to hold a rally at the Mochi Gate.
Maryam and Rashid said that the rally should have been allowed while Bilawal condemned the “high-handedness and disregard for the constitutional rights of the people” shown by the Punjab government.
In a tweet, Maryam said that the arrested activists should be released and the PTM should be allowed to hold its rally. “This country is as much their’s as it is our’s. Attempts to suppress voices rising against oppression and excesses can never have never been successful, nor will they ever be.”
Bilawal, in a tweet, said that every Pakistani citizen has a right to protest and “PTM is no different.”
In his statement, Rashid said that the ban on the rally was a painful act and that the Punjab government should not only listen to the pain and misery of the protesters but also play their part in alleviating them. “This is not the time to repeat bitterness of the past, but to learn from them and strengthen national unity.”
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Lahore Haider Ashraf however denied arresting any PTM leaders, saying they had only been called to the police headquarters to negotiate on security for the event as the district administration has refused them permission to hold the rally.
A day earlier, he said PTM leaders had been engaged to get affidavits that they would not take part in any anti-state activity. Police added that the rally would be provided security according to the standard operating procedure (SOP).
Meanwhile, the PTM said that all its leaders were released after being held for 3-4 hours.
The Lahore rally had been announced earlier this month when the movement held its first power show in Peshawar, demanding all missing persons be produced in courts and provision of basic rights to the people of Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The PTM came to prominence in February after the killing of a young social media star in Karachi unleashed festering anger at authorities over the alleged targeting of Pashtuns in the country’s long war on militancy.
The military has accused the PTM of colluding with India and overseeing a campaign to destabilise the country.