Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader, Manzoor Pashteen, has once again condemned the Punjabi Pakistan Army for its failure to protect Pashtun communities, accusing it of perpetuating violence and destabilizing the region. Speaking out about the dire situation in several tribal areas, Pashteen emphasized the lack of accountability and effective governance, particularly by the occupying government in Pakhtunkhwa.

Reflecting on the historic October 11 Jirga, Pashteen expressed optimism about its potential impact on the Pashtun struggle. However, he warned that the Jirga’s decisions could only bring real change if Pashtun political parties united to implement them. “We appeal to all Pashtun parties to follow the decisions of the Jirga and work together to solve the issues facing our people,” Pashteen said.

While he acknowledged the difficulties ahead, Pashteen reassured his followers that PTM was not silenced, nor was it backing down from its mission. “We are preparing ourselves for the next phase of struggle,” he said, highlighting the pressing need for resistance in the face of increasing oppression.

Addressing the critical situation in Pashtun-majority areas, particularly Bajaur, Swat, Waziristan, Bannu, and Kurram, Pashteen made it clear that the Paki establishment’s neglect and inability to address the growing violence were unacceptable. “The provincial government of Pakhtunkhwa is a government in name only,” he said. “Armed groups roam freely, and when violence erupts, it is the ordinary people who are pressured, not those responsible for the bloodshed.”

Pashteen Warns

Particularly harrowing was Pashteen’s description of the conditions in Kurram, where he highlighted the dire humanitarian crisis. “People in Kurram have no food to eat, but the establishment is indifferent. While civilians suffer, both fighting sides continue to receive ample supplies of weapons and ammunition to fuel their conflict,” he said.

Pashteen also turned his focus to the Pakistan Army’s brutal tactics, criticizing its actions in Waziristan and beyond. “The Army does not even leave the people of Waziristan alone across the Durand Line. While militants operate near Army bases, the Army bombs children in Khost,” he said, pointing to the Army’s destabilizing role in Afghanistan. “Pakistan continues to foster extremist groups to destabilize Afghanistan while neglecting the needs of its own people.”

In addition to these grave concerns, Pashteen condemned the use of drones by the Pak Army, which he claimed are being used for training purposes on civilians in Waziristan. “Drone attacks and target killings are now a regular feature of life in Waziristan. Areas like Mir Ali have become training grounds for Pakistan’s drone operations,” Pashteen said, underscoring the civilian toll these attacks have taken.

He also warned that the Army’s recent attempts to seize control of newly discovered mineral-rich areas in Malakand and other regions were causing further strife. “The Army has created problems to occupy the mines, and if they attempt to conduct operations in our areas, we will not allow ourselves to be displaced again,” he asserted, adding that PTM was planning a response in case of further forced displacements. “If they force us to leave again, we will march to Islamabad with millions of people to demand justice.”

The Pakistan Army has yet again martyred an innocent Pashtun youth, this time in Bara, Khyber. Khan Wali Afridi, an active participant in the October 11 Jirga, has reported that soldiers entered the home of the victim and ruthlessly killed the young man in front of his grieving family, particularly the women of the household. This brutal act serves as a stark reminder of the Pak military’s ongoing disregard for basic human, Pashtun, and Islamic norms.

The victim, whose name remains withheld, becomes yet another casualty in the long list of Pashtun youth targeted by the Punjabi Pak Army. This incident follows closely on the heels of a similar tragedy in Bajaur, where another young Pashtun was murdered by Pak Army. Such acts of violence have become commonplace in Pashtun regions.

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a grassroots movement that fights for the rights of Pashtuns, has been at the forefront of calling out the Paki establishment’s systematic suppression of Pashtun demands. The PTM has consistently highlighted the ongoing human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and military crackdowns in the Pashtun areas. These actions, aimed at silencing voices of dissent, have left thousands of Pashtun families in mourning, with entire communities displaced, marginalized, and living in constant fear.

For years, the Pashtun people have borne the brunt of military operations, drone strikes, and terrorist activities, all of which have contributed to widespread displacement, poverty, and grief. Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence of injustice, the Punjabi Pak Army remains unaccountable, continuing its reign of terror against innocent Pashtun civilians.

The Pakistan Army, which never ceases to wax eloquent about its phenomenal ability to effectively deal with the “entire spectrum of threats,” currently seems to be reeling under the onslaught of what it claims is the menace of fake news. While there may well be some substance in these allegations, but then, can the old ‘there’s no smoke without a fire’ adage be simply wished away just because Rawalpindi says so?

It goes to the credit of the Pakistan Army that despite serious professional failings and its involvement in politics [admitted by none other than former Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa himself], Rawalpindi has nevertheless still been able to preserve its holy cow image. This it has done by projecting the Pakistan Army as the sole guarantor and bulwark of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against what it alleges is India’s hegemonistic ambitions.

That Rawalpindi has been able to achieve this despite failing to annex J&K twice, dismemberment of Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, abandoning its dead soldiers and shamefully retreating during the Kargil conflict of 1999, is indeed a stellar achievement. It has also successfully portrayed itself as the most reliable trouble-shooter in a country plagued by what it openly says is a thoroughly incompetent legislature-remember former Pakistan President and Army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf’s famous “Military rule has always brought the country back on track, whereas civilian governments have always derailed it” remark?

However, like all perishable commodities, illusions too have a shelf life, and so it was but natural that the time and events would tear apart Rawalpindi’s holier-than-thou veneer. Things came to a head when Dawn reported in 2016 that “In a blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning, the civilian government has informed the military leadership of a growing international isolation of Pakistan and sought consensus on several key actions by the state.” Despite being put under pressure, this newspaper showed spine by refusing to retract this report.

Rawalpindi’s Fake Rhetoric

On the Army’s insistence, this case [which is commonly referred to as Dawn Leaks], was investigated through a high level inquiry and a directive removing the prime minister’s special assistant on political affairs was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office [PMO]. This should have placated Rawalpindi but instead, Director General [DG] of the Pakistan Army’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations [ISPR] issued a terse statement that read “Notification on Dawn Leak is incomplete and not in line with recommendations by the Inquiry Board. Notification is rejected.”

The uncouth tone and tenor of this statement mocking the PMO expectedly created strong anti-Army sentiments and even though this tweet was subsequently withdrawn, social media was flooded with adverse comments against Pakistan’s military. In May 2017, Voice of America reported a crackdown on social media activists by the cyber crime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency and quoted Pakistan’s then Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan warning the public that “Ridiculing [the] Pakistan Army or its officers on social media in the name of freedom of speech is unacceptable” and “a serious offense.”

A year later, while addressing media persons, DGISPR expressed concern on the rapidly increasing trend of adverse comments against the Army. Advising the people to demonstrate “responsibility,” DGISPR issued a veiled public threat saying, “We have the capability to monitor social media as to who is doing what.” However, its attempt to intimidate the people didn’t succeed. Rather than dispassionately introspecting on why anti-Army sentiments in the country were increasing and how its own highhandedness was accelerating the same, Rawalpindi conveniently apportioned the blame on “hostile agencies.”

Instead of initiating remedial measures, Rawalpindi manipulated the Imran Khan led government to criminalise ridiculing of the armed forces and its members by amending the Pakistan Penal Code [PPC] by inserting Section 500A. This section states that “anyone who intentionally ridicules, defames, or brings into disrespect the armed forces or any of their members is guilty of an offense,” that can invite a five years prison sentence, a fine of upto Rs one million or both. Since what exactly constitutes ridicule and defamation of the armed forces or its members hasn’t been defined, this section becomes a handy tool to target anyone who annoys the Army for any reason.

Since section 500A of PPC brazenly violates fundamental right of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, it has predictably led to alienation of the masses. The irony is that while Rawalpindi is extremely sensitive when it comes to any criticism, even if it is constructive in nature, it has no qualms whatsoever in using social media to demonise former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf [PTI] especially after the May 9, 2023 protests that saw mobs of incensed PTI supporters targeting military facilities.

Censorship Charade

Pakistan Army claims that the May 9, 2023 protest was “externally sponsored and internally facilitated and orchestrated propaganda warfare… created to achieve political interests.” However, seeing the swiftly emerging chain of events on that day which culminated in this protest, it’s apparent that this incident was more the release of pent-up public emotions amongst PTI supporters accentuated by the Rawalpindi orchestrated removal of Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no confidence vote that were triggered when Rangers abducted him from court premises, rather than some deep-rooted conspiracy hatched in some foreign country.

For an Army that incessantly keeps professing its apolitical nature to indulge in petty mudslinging against a particular politician and his party is downright outrageous. Some examples-

•        In July 2024, DGISPR alleged that “A massive illegal, political mafia rose to sabotage the campaign and the first move of that mafia was to make the operation [“Azm-i-Istehkam” or Resolve for Stability] controversial through false and fake arguments.” One doesn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the “political mafia” barb is specifically directed at the PTI chief and his political party. [Emphasis added].

•        Two months later, while once again announcing [for the umpteenth time] that “The Army neither opposes nor favours any political party,” DG ISPR betrayed Rawalpindi’s animosity towards the PTI chief by saying, “… according to military law, if any person [read- Imran Khan] uses individuals under the Army Act [read-Pakistan Army’s former spymaster Lt Gen Faiz Hameed] for their personal objectives, the law will take its own course.” With Rawalpindi having concluded that the cricketer-turned-politician was in cahoots with retired Lt Gen Hameed even before the latter’s Field General Court Martial concluded DGISPR’s claim of the Pakistan Army being apolitical sounds like a joke.  

•        During a media interaction in December last year, when asked about the rumoured backdoor discussion between the Army and PTI, DGISPR took the high moral ground by saying that “We respect all political parties and their leadership,” but thereafter unwittingly revealed Rawalpindi’s intense hatred for the PTI chief by adding, “However, no individual, his politics, or his desire for power is above Pakistan.” Does it befit a respected organisation like the Army to stoop so low as to cast aspersions on a former prime minister’s patriotism?

Just the other day, Dawn reported that “Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl [JUI-F] chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Saturday accused the country’s establishment [moniker used for the all-pervasive Pakistan Army] of clinging to authority despite widespread criticism from all sectors of society, alleging that “it remains indifferent to what is right or wrong” and that “its sole concern is maintaining power.” [Emphasis added]. Will Rawalpindi take a serious note of this incisive observation made by a seasoned Pakistani politician, or will it yet once again camouflage its own monumental failings by branding the JUI-F chief’s remarks as part of “externally sponsored and internally facilitated and orchestrated propaganda warfare”?

Most importantly, with six senior judges of Islamabad High Court accusing Pakistan Army’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence [ISI] of intimidating judges “under threat of coercion or blackmail, to engineer judicial outcomes in politically consequential matters,” [Emphasis added], how can Rawalpindi expect the people of Pakistan to still believe that the Pakistan Army is apolitical and the target of “externally sponsored and internally facilitated and orchestrated propaganda warfare”?

Thousands of Pashtun civilians have been forced to flee their homes in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, as Punjabi Pak Army unleashes yet another wave of violence in the Pashtun region. This intensification of an undeclared war has left innocent civilians caught in relentless crossfire, uprooting entire families and compelling them to abandon their homes and livelihoods.

The so-called counterinsurgency efforts have drawn harsh criticism from Pashtun activists and locals, who accuse the Pakistan Army of perpetuating cycles of violence in the name of “security operations.” The current situation echoes the disastrous “Zarb-e-Azb” military operation, which displaced millions under the guise of eliminating terrorism but failed to achieve any peace. Instead, it further destabilized the tribal regions, leaving them vulnerable to militant resurgence and military excesses.

“The Pashtun homeland has become a battleground for the military’s disastrous ‘Project Taliban,’ which keeps our people condemned to perpetual conflict,” said a displaced resident of Mir Ali. The term “Project Taliban” refers to widespread notion that the Pakistan Army has nurtured and protected extremist groups for strategic purposes, a policy that has repeatedly backfired, causing immense suffering for ordinary Pashtuns.

The exodus from Mir Ali highlights that the Pak Army is targeting civilians rather than dismantling the terrorist infrastructure it is complicit in fostering. Entire villages have been left in ruins, with schools, hospitals, and markets destroyed under the pretext of “clearing operations.”

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a grassroots civil rights movement advocating for Pashtun rights, has repeatedly called out the army’s oppressive tactics in North Waziristan and beyond. From enforced disappearances to extrajudicial killings, the military’s actions have been described as an attempt to silence dissent and maintain control over the Pashtun regions.