Pashtun activists vow to hold rally:

Leaders of Pakistan’s Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) vowed to defy a ban and go ahead with a mass protest in the eastern city of Lahore Sunday, just hours after officials cracked down on the group.

Since launching three months ago, the PTM has rattled the powerful military with a nationwide campaign calling for an end to extrajudicial killings, “disappearances” and other abuses by police and troops.

Despite a far-reaching media blackout the movement has drawn tens of thousands of supporters to their protests in one of the strongest challenges to Pakistan’s security establishment for years.