There seems to be no respite to the Pashtun Community’s woes in the recent month. After many years of hard-won peace, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital Peshawar has become the main target for terrorist groups. The string of attacks in the province confirms that both secular and religious parties are under attack from terrorists. Only a few weeks ago, a suicide attack in a Jamiat Ulema i Islam (JUI-F) meeting in Peshawar killed over 40 innocent people. Ever since the beginning of armed violence in the province, the state and military institutions have continued a paradoxical policy, preferring dialogue with the TTP on the one hand and incarcerating the social activists on the other hand.
Senior activist and one of the founding members of the PTM, Ali Wazir was detained for over two years between December 2020 and February 2023. He was arrested once again in June on the charge of using defamatory language against state institutions. The demand to end systematic discrimination against Pashtuns has found a mass appeal for a considerable time in the Pashtun belt and the Human Rights spaces across Pakistan. The PTM has announced a long march to Islamabad on the 18th of August to amplify its struggle and communicate its grievances to the country’s lawmakers.
The demands include:
A. Military courts be abolished and all political and social cases should be excluded from military courts. The abduction of political and social persons by the army should be stopped. PTM demands justice for Eid Rehman Wazir who was abducted by the Law enforcement institutions in North Waziristan. Veteran activist Gilaman Pashteen remains incarcerated and we demand his release.
B. All missing persons should be recovered. Abolition of cruel laws from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Extrajudicial detentions of activists from human rights and social workers in the Pashtun belt should be stopped immediately.
C. The extraction of the minerals must stop unless the people of KP/Former FATA areas are given the first right to all the natural resources.
D. The armed forces must withdraw from the vicinity of educational institutions of the province and a conducive environment should be provided to the students. Control of public lands by the state institutions should be stopped and the land should be given back to their rightful owners. Extortionary practices, both in the name of the Taliban or the State, a norm in KP, must end immediately.
E. The state should avoid interfering in land disputes between Khelos and tribes and ensure land settlement.
F. Humiliation and economic exploitation of Pashtuns should be stopped at Chaman, Turam, Angur Ada, Ghulam Khan, Kharlachi, Gorsal Nawa Pass and other commercial and transit gates.
G. The government is requested to take immediate action to remove landmines and improvised explosive devices from the affected areas to protect the local population.
H. A Truth and Reconciliation Committee should be established to redress the grievances of conflict-affected people in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
I. Freedom of expression and protection of media persons should be ensured and fair coverage and reporting should be allowed on issues affecting the Pashtun community. The constitutional rights of the Pashtun people should be fully recognised and their cultural, social and political identity should be protected.
Image – Authors own