Ilyas Pashteen, a prominent member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Khyber, was taken into custody by Frontier Corps (FC) personnel on Sunday. Reportedly, Pashteen was held at a nearby camp, where he was subjected to four hours of torture before being released late at night.
The arrest and subsequent torture of Pashteen have sparked concerns about the targeted repression of Pashtun political activists, while those responsible for ongoing unrest remain unaddressed. PTM leaders have criticized the arrest orders issued earlier for key PTM members, denouncing them as a blatant effort to suppress the democratic and peaceful struggles of oppressed and marginalized communities.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of suppression against Pashtun voices. The ongoing unrest is manufactured, pointing to a historical context where the Punjabi-Pak military has exploited Pashtun lands and resources since 1947. The military has labeled Pashtuns as terrorists or militants, abducting and killing them once their strategic interests are fulfilled.
The PTM continues to condemn these actions and calls for an end to the suppression of Pashtun voices and democratic movements.