Pakistan: Ban On PTM Will Not Work – OpEd

Pashtoon Tahafuz Movement PTM has called a grand national jirga also called Qaumi Adalat or Court of Nation scheduled for October 11 at Jamrud, a place in one of the Khyber districts in Pakhtunkhwa province, to address key issues affecting the Pashtoon population, including security concerns, political autonomy, violation of their constitutional rights and socio-economic challenges in the region.

The federal government imposed a ban on the (PTM). The ban is enacted under Pakistan's anti-terror law, as tensions are mounting ahead of a PTM-planned jirga, or council of elders, on Friday, 11 October, citing threats to national peace and security. A day ago, the KP government prohibited its officials and employees from engaging in the three-day Jirga.. The PTI government of Pakhtoonkhawa placed 54 PTM activists on the Fourth Schedule, and the Balochistan government placed 34. Including a name in the Fourth Schedule under the Anti-Terrorism Act means the person concerned has become prohibited. Restrictions imposed on such persons include a passport embargo, freezing of bank accounts, a ban on financial support and credit, an arms license embargo, and employment clearance restrictions. Khyber Deputy Commissioner also imposed Section 144 in the district for 30 days.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi criticized the recently proscribed PTM for its alleged rhetoric against state institutions. He said that the passport and CNIC will be revoked for those who come into contact with banned PTM or join Jirga.

Earlier today, a two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) also restrained the PTM from holding the jirga on disputed land, directing the police to act to maintain law and order. The PHC issued a stay order to stop the event and adjourned the case till Oct 15. The bench consisted of Justice Attiq Shah and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah.

PTM, despite being banned by the federal government and barred by PHC and KP government, coupled with being ignored by the mainstream media, is drawing huge crowds of young and old Pashtuns coupled with the participation of the members of all Pashtoon nationalist parties. The movement is positioning itself as a platform to protect the rights and lives of the Pashtuns from what it considers are elements from within and outside the state bent on demonizing and destroying the Pakhtun population and exploiting their rights and resources in Pakistan.

PTM lost four lives of their workers when their diehard activists assembled at the venue of their three-day jirga in Jamrud on Sunday evening in clear defiance of the federal government’s order and vowed to hold the gathering. Soon after the incident, the federal government called an official Jirga headed by CM KP, attended by the interior minister, Governor KP, and members of the parliamentary parties, including tribal elders. Consequently, KP CM met with the elders of PTM Jirga and allowed them to hold a Jirga on the same day and location.

What Is PTM?

The movement emerged in the year 2014 after a Pakhtun youth, Naqeebullah Mehsud was ambushed and killed in Karachi by the police led by notorious police officer Rao Anwer, who was tried but later released and sent abroad by the then government. The police claimed he was a terrorist with links to extremist groups. But as it turned out, Mehsud was nothing more than an aspiring fashion model.

The movement gained national attention in 2018 after leading a 300-kilometer march to the capital Islamabad, to protest the suffering of people due to fragile security in their area. The group then rebranded as the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, or PTM, giving fellow Pashtuns a cause to rally around.

Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement and PTM co-founder Manzoor Pashtoon, known for his charismatic personality and other former key leaders include Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, both of whom served as independent lawmakers in Pakistan's parliament along with other PTM leaders and activists, grew out of the turmoil of the four decades of Afghan Jihadi project carried out by the US and Pakistan particularly U.S.-led war in Afghanistan after 9/11and Pakistan's more than 11 counterterrorism operations in the erstwhile tribal region. With the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan driving the Taliban and al-Qaida into the region, the Pakistani military launched a series of operations over the next two decades to hunt down the militants, and the consequences were devastating for the local population. Tens of thousands were killed, thousands were forcibly disappeared, and millions more were displaced. 

These experiences fueled a growing sense of resentment, sense of alienation, and injustice among the Pashtun educated youth who mostly come from middle and lower-middle-class tribal backgrounds, witnessing and carrying out the memories of mass-scale violence, killing of their elders, including women and children, aerial bombing of their houses and markets. The details of such devastation are documented by the PTM. 

According to PTM, the recently unveiled White Paper on War Damages in Pakhtunkhwa will be a groundbreaking report that will serve as a foundational resource for discussions during the first day of the Pashtun National Jirga, where the long-standing human and economic toll of war in the region will be highlighted.

The White Paper, based on extensive grassroots research and surveys conducted by PTM, underscores the following key findings from a comprehensive survey on war damages and militarization across 26 districts of the Pakhtunkhwa province. Massive Displacement took place in the areas, and about 3.7 million civilians were displaced as a result of military operations. Moreover, thousands of enforced disappearances, civilian casualties, and landmine victims remain unaccounted for to this day.

The total number of terrorism-related fatalities in Pakistan from March 2000 to September 2024 amounts to 68,691, with 51,535 (approximately 75.03%) of these fatalities occurring in Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Pashtun districts of Balochistan province.

Economic Devastation includes the collapse or shifting of key industries from the province, with poverty rates exceeding 27% in conflict-affected areas. Further widespread damage to schools and hospitals, particularly impacting women and children. An estimated 20% of damaged homes have been destroyed.

Landmine Impact:

Around 178 landmine blasts were recorded in South Waziristan alone, resulting in 800 deaths due to landmine explosions. Two hundred fifty children were left physically impaired, 77 individuals lost their sight, and approximately 4,000 cattle were killed. PTM has successfully registered 279 cases of landmine explosions and established a computerized record of these incidents.

Military Operations:

A total of 11 military operations were conducted in KP and former FATA. Approximately 150 attacks on CD shops, music centers, and events, destroying 1,000 to 1,500 shops in KP and FATA.

The data collected so far on Missing Persons shows that a total of 4,952 missing persons were recorded across 26 districts. This research also brings to light the untold stories of Pashtun’s suffering and issues, a strong call for justice, reparations, and accountability. It marks a significant step in addressing the grievances of Pashtuns as the region continues to grapple with the destructive legacy of war and militarization.

Why Manzoor Pashteen and PTM are becoming so popular?

Both PTM and its founder became popular among the suppressed, oppressed, de-humanized, demoralized, and demonized classes of Pakistan in general and Pashtuns in particular because he made public those ‘offstage’ or ‘hidden transcripts’ and gave voice to the voiceless Pashtoons, who knew but could not dare speak up in the face of the dominant security apparatus. His style of narration is soft and artful. Most importantly, he has first-hand information and observation of the downtrodden Pashtun community in erstwhile tribal agencies.

What are the Demands of the PTM?

The demands of the PTM are very few and simple. 1. They ask for their area to be cleared of landmines, 2. to present missing persons in courts for trials, 3. for a life of dignity, peace, including the removal of military checkpoints, and 4. they ask not to be collectively punished for crimes not committed by them, 5. and for the killer of Naqeebullah Mehsud to be brought to justice. They demand protection of their rights and resources enshrined in the constitution. Last but not the least, free their land from resurgence of terrorist activities and extremism.

The demands of the PTM are very much constitutional, with no negative or doubtful intentions. Then why are its protests dubbed as ‘engineered’ and its leader, Manzoor Pashteen, as ‘agent of RAW and NDS’? This a question that every Pashtoon seeks answer to. The PTM’s entire agenda is focused on demanding that the military give up its heavy-handed approach to managing the country’s tribal areas. The movement has accused the military of occupying their mines and mineral resources and also of supporting militant groups, abducting and silencing anyone who attempts to make public the atrocities of security forces. They demand peace, justice, and the elimination of terrorist activities in their areas.

What methods do PTM use?

PTM is modeling itself on a British-era Pashtun civil disobedience and non-violence movement carried out by Bacha Khan. PTM uses a variety of peaceful methods such as marches, protests, processions through bazaars, and open-air meetings known as jirgas. The groups have reportedly formed study circles to promote nonviolence and have called for a peace-and-reconciliation commission for justice. PTM is not in favor of parliamentary politics; therefore, two co-founded members, Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, parted ways.

The State Response Towards PTM.

The civil and military establishment has dubbed PTM and its leadership working for foreign agendas and their protests as engineered. Former COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in an obvious reference to (PTM), warned that ‘engineered protests’ will not be allowed to reverse the gains of counter-terrorism operations. Further, former DG ISPR, on 3rd May 2019, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, in a press briefing, blamed PTM leadership for receiving foreign funding from hostile neighbors. He warned the PTM (twice) that, “Your time is up.” However, evidence in this regard has not been public so far. Furthermore, a big question that arises here is why would any hostile agency invest in a movement that struggles for peace, enforcement of fundamental rights, and supremacy of the Constitution.

What should the establishment do?

The state should engage with PTM and listen to their grievances on serious terms. Dubbing them ‘engineered and foreign-funded without credible evidence will not work. No doubt, the Army as an institution is angry about the PTM’s narrative for several reasons. First, the sloganeering at the rallies has been critical. Especially the famous slogan “Yeh jo dehshatgardi hai iske peechay wardi ha” (literally, terrorism is backed by uniform) has angered the institution at large. Second, PTM’s main leader, Manzoor Pashteen, referred to the intelligence outfits openly by name in their rallies. Further, the young men and women of former FATA and KP are challenging the strategic worldview of the military-led security policy.

Declaring PTM a proscribed organization will be counterproductive, as we have seen banning political parties in the past. The first time the non-violence movement led by Ghafar Khan was banned after one week of independence in the year 1947, Bacha Khan was put in jail, but it was undone after great losses. The second time, the former National Awami Party led by Wali Khan (late) was banned in 1970 for a brief period, later on, the ban was lifted, but it was banned again in the year 1974 by the PPP-led government. Their leadership was put in jail in the famous Hyderabad Conspiracy case, but that ban was lifted, and the leadership of the defunct NAP was freed by Marshal law Administrator late Zia ul Haq. Now, it is the fourth time in our 77-year history that the Pashtoon national movement has been declared proscribed by the present civilian government.

In the wake of serious existential challenges facing the country, both the government and PTM should review their policies. PTM should stop provocative and objectionable slogans against the government and its security forces, sticking to their non-violence agenda and continuing the struggle for the rights of their people within constitutional boundaries. 

The government should lift the ban on the political activities of PTM, draw all cases registered against their workers, listen to their voices with patience, and ensure their due rights enshrined in the constitution. The Pashtoon population, being sufferers of the war on terror, needs resilience and appeasement of the government rather than punitive action against them.

To sum it up, if the state wants to learn from its history, it must use its brain instead of its muscles and think rationally and logically about the gravity of the situation and the genuine grievances of PTM. It must reconsider all its policies and should act democratically, ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution everywhere and for everyone. It must act in such an inclusive manner that will empower its people, including democratic institutions. It must act as a truly democratic federation. After all, this is the only way to win the hearts and minds of people across the country, particularly the Pashtoon population.