Police in Swabi have launched a renewed crackdown on Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) members, raiding the home of CC member Liyaqat Yousafzai and taking his son into custody. This latest action underscores the Pakistan Army’s ongoing efforts to silence Pashtun voices critical of the regime’s policies as the PTM prepares for a significant national gathering scheduled for October 11.

The PTM’s campaign against the Pakistan Army’s heavy-handed and often brutal tactics has intensified in recent months. The movement’s struggle for justice has been met with a systematic campaign of intimidation, abductions, and extrajudicial killings orchestrated by the Punjabi Pak Army. This crackdown is not only a blatant violation of human rights and international law but also a stark reminder of the Army’s disregard for the rule of law and the fundamental rights of the Pashtun people.

Since the Punjabi Pak Army’s forceful occupation of the region in 1947, it has consistently used oppressive measures to maintain its grip on power. The recent actions against PTM members further reflect this long-standing pattern of abuse, aimed at stifling dissent and suppressing the Pashtun community’s legitimate demands for autonomy, justice and accountability.

The PTM’s upcoming national gathering on October 11 is expected to be a major platform for raising awareness about these human rights abuses. However, the Pakistan Army’s brutal crackdown serves as a stark reminder of the lengths to which the military establishment will go to prevent such expressions of dissent and maintain its oppressive control over the region.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced the incorporation of the Attaullah Rehman group, also known as Naeem Bukhari’s faction from Karachi. This development marks the 61st militant group to merge with the TTP since the series of mergers began in 2020. Notably, Bukhari, the commander of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) group, has been in custody since 2016.

The inclusion of Bukhari’s group further solidifies the TTP’s role as an overarching umbrella organization for various terrorist factions across Pakistan. This alarming expansion reflects the Pakistan Army’s continued failure to effectively combat and contain the growing threat of terrorism within the country.

Despite the rising influence of the TTP and its affiliates, the Pakistan Army remains focused on silencing human rights activists who speak out against the military’s enforced disappearances, abductions, extra-judicial killings, and Army operations. The Punjabi Pak Army’s efforts to suppress dissent have not only failed to address the escalating terrorist actions but have also contributed to the climate of oppression and violence.

The President of the Insaaf Students Federation (ISF) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ishfaq, has issued a strong call to action, urging students and youth across the province to prepare for mass demonstrations in response to the mysterious disappearance of Ali Amin Gandapur, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This rallying cry comes at a time of heightened unrest, as the Punjabi Pak Army orchestrated Gandapur’s abduction to silence political opposition and suppress dissent.

Gandapur’s disappearance comes shortly after his remarks at a rally in support of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. During the rally, Gandapur boldly threatened Pak Army to forcibly free Imran from jail, which is a direct challenge to the Paki establishment. Following these remarks, Gandapur was abducted.

On Monday, reports emerged of the arrests of PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, outspoken leader Sher Afzal Marwat, Waziristan MNA Zubair Khan, and lawyer Shoaib Shaheen.

Gohar and Marwat were taken into custody separately outside Parliament House, where a large contingent of personnel swiftly bundled them into vehicles as they exited the assembly building after Monday’s session.

Shaheen was apprehended in a surprise raid at his office in G-9, as captured in footage of the arrest. His staff attempted to resist, but they were also detained by nearly a dozen police officers and plainclothesmen.

The Punjabi Pak Army’s heavy-handed tactics, including the arrest of political figures, violent suppression of opposition, and ruthless crackdown on PTI leaders, are part of the Pak Army’s strategy to quash any resistance to its authority. The region is under decades of violence, exploitation, and suppression, with little to no accountability for the actions of the Pak military.

In an unprecedented move, police personnel in Lakki Marwat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have taken to the streets in protest, shutting down the Indus Highway to voice their anger over the growing wave of targeted killings in the region. The demonstrators, comprised of frustrated police officers, are demanding that the police force be empowered to counter these attacks, while calling for the removal of secret agencies from the control room.

Chanting slogans like “We are being fueled by a dollar war,” protestors expressed their frustration over the deliberate manipulation by the occupied state, the Paki establishment of exploiting the Pashtun regions for financial gain. The rise of militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is part of a calculated strategy to attract funding from the United States, under the guise of fighting terrorism.

These so-called terror attacks are engineered by the Punjabi Pak Army whenever it faces budget shortages or when the economy slows down. They impose fake terrorism on Pashtun soil to portray themselves as victims of terror. This way, the Punjabi-Pak Army draws money in the form of international aid, claiming they are fighting the war on terrorism.

However, it is the Pashtuns who bear the brunt of this “war,” facing atrocities such as targeted killings, fake encounters, and forced disappearances. While the Army fills its coffers, Pashtuns are left to suffer.

This protest marks a significant development in the ongoing unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the police personnel—who are often seen as foot soldiers in the occupied-state’s so-called counterterrorism efforts—have openly rebelled against the military’s manipulation and exploitation of the region.

A dangerous and extremist mindset continues to haunt religious minorities, as members of a Germany-based Pakistani radical Islamist group, led by Hassan Gondal, have been actively targeting Sikh girls for conversion. This disturbing trend mirrors the oppressive tactics seen in Pakistan, where religious minorities, including Sikhs, have long faced persecution at the hands of Islamist extremists.

Hassan Gondal Dogar, a Pakistani-origin TikTok user based in Berlin, has gained notoriety for his inflammatory rhetoric against Sikhism and its revered leaders. His online activity is not just isolated hate speech—it reflects the broader, deeply ingrained extremist agenda within segments of radical Pakistani society. The targeting of Sikhs for conversion is part of a longstanding pattern of oppression that has its roots in the bloody partition of India in 1947.

The Sikh community has endured brutal violence at the hands of Muslim radicals since the 1947 partition, when around 7,000 Sikhs were massacred by the Muslim League, and an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 women were kidnapped and raped during the Rawalpindi massacres. Since then, the Sikh population in Pakistan has dwindled from around 40,000 in 2002 to less than 8,000 today. Those who remain live under the constant shadow of persecution, their sacred gurdwaras neglected and left to decay, if not vandalized.

Alarmingly, the online attacks by extremists like Gondal echo a more widespread issue: the forced conversion of Sikh girls, known as ‘Kaur to Khan’ conversions. While officially denied by many, reports from various parts of the world, particularly the UK, suggest that this troubling practice is more common than acknowledged.