Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzor Ahmad Pashteen’s convoy came under attack on Wednesday in Zhob city in the Pakistan’s restive province Balochistan on Wednesday. The PTM has accused the Pakistan military of conducting the attack. The strike left one person critically wounded.
A video shared by the PTM on social media shows that after the attack, Pakistan forces tried to forcibly arrest Pashteen, but the members of the PTM resisted.
Watch Video :
"زندگی کا آغاز اسی جگہ ہوتا ہے جہاں خوف ختم ہوتا ہے۔"
سلام ہمارے نوجوانوں کے جذبوں کو#StateAttackedPTM @latifwaxirii @AlamZaibPK pic.twitter.com/F2LkJi6bdt— Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) (@Pashtunism333) February 2, 2022
A picture posted on Twitter, shows the bullet riddled car in which the PTM chief was travelling.
Thats the car of @ManzoorPashteen . One can see the bullets thats been fired straight on #ManzoorPashteen, fortunately he didn’t hit,PTM CoOrdinatier NoorBacha hit thrice by the security forces.Thats what they treat pashtuns leaders in this state #StateAttackedPTM pic.twitter.com/sKbxycGhlk
— Tahir Pashteen (@TahirTarash) February 2, 2022
There are many pictures shared by the PTM and its followers of the incident.
Attack on peaceful youth outside Killa Saifullah near Zhob is inhumane and shows how we're treated by state though PTM was out to ask justice for our key founder Professor Arman Loni#StateAttackedPTM #RememberingArmanLoni #StateKilledArmanLoni pic.twitter.com/BkJ3wncSTg
— Sanna Ejaz(سیاله) (@sanaejaz2) February 2, 2022
“Attack on peaceful youth outside Killa Saifullah near Zhob is inhumane and shows how we're treated by the state though PTM was out to ask for justice for our key founder Professor Arman Loni,” says Sanna Ejaz, a PTM activist.
According to the PTM, the Pakistani forces opened fire on the convoy of Pahsteen when it was on its way to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after attending the third anniversary of the death of PTM activist Arman at Qala-e-Saifullah, who was killed by the Pakistani forces in 2019.
“Prayers for the recovery of the injured comrade Noor Bacha and call upon the local, regional and international human rights organizations to condemn and take action against the brutalities on imposed terrorism victims by the Pakistan security Institutions,” says the statement issued by the PTM.
Mohsin Dawar, a PTM supporter and elected member of the Pakistan National Assembly, condemned the alleged attack on the PTM leader.
“The attack on Manzoor Pashteen and his comrades is beyond shameful. Hope for Noor Bacha who was injured in the attack to recover safely. The state continues to attack peaceful activists. Pashtun youth cannot be intimidated with such cowardly violence,” he wrote on Twitter.
The attack on Manzoor Pashteen and his comrades is beyond shameful. Hope for Noor Bacha who was injured in the attack to recover safely. The state continues to attack peaceful activists. Pashtun youth cannot be intimidated with such cowardly violence.
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) February 2, 2022
The incident has sparked anger among the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Pashtun areas of Afghanistan. The PTM has announced indefinite sit-in protests against the Pakistan army.
Pashteen is the young leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement (PTM) – a non-violent protest movement demanding rights for Pashtuns in Pakistan’s former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which is now known as Khyber Pukhtanwa. The movement accuses grave human rights violations by Pakistan’s military against Pashtuns in the country’s northwest. It says that Pashtuns have been the target of violence at the hands of the Pakistani military for two decades. The movement claims that the military has killed innocent civilians in its operations against the Pakistani Taliban, and that it needs to answer for “missing persons.”
Also Read: The Durand Line border, drugs, and the struggle for a Pashtun homeland
