Once again, Pashtun leader Ali Wazir faces hurdles in his pursuit of justice. Wazir, who was scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, failed to attend his hearing, with authorities citing the excuse that the prison vehicle transporting him had broken down. This excuse is the latest in a long line of delays and interruptions in the legal proceedings against Wazir, a prominent Pashtun rights activist and member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
Despite the continued efforts to disrupt his legal battles, the court acquitted Wazir in the first case, while the hearing for the second case was rescheduled for January 24. However, this ongoing game of legal cat-and-mouse is more than just an isolated incident. It is indicative of the systemic effort by the Paki establishment to suppress Pashtun voices and the broader Pashtun nationalist struggle.
Over the years, Pashtun activists have faced immense challenges in securing justice, with the Punjabi Pak Army using arbitrary arrests, fabricated charges, and delays in the judicial process as tools to silence dissent. This is part of a broader pattern of Army repression aimed at curbing the Pashtun rights movement, which has long sought justice for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other human rights abuses committed by the military in the region.
The delays in Wazir’s case and the unjust tactics used against him are emblematic of the Pak Army’s broader strategy to maintain its stranglehold over Pashtun areas, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the military has historically used violence and intimidation to suppress any form of resistance.