ISLAMABAD : A trial court has ordered the remand of Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Ali Wazir into three-day custody, directing the police to present them before the ATC on August 24. The police are seeking to conduct a photogrammetric and voice matching test for the human rights lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari Hazir. Pashtun activists Ali Wazir and Imaan Zainab Mazari find themselves captive under the custody of the Pakistan Army; a result of their participation in the protest in Islamabad.
On 18 August, an immense rally took shape, drawing thousands of Pashtuns and Balochs to the heart of Islamabad, challenging the very foundations of the Pakistan “establishment”. The rally, a resounding statement against the Pakistan “establishment” had rebuked the Pakistan Army for committing murders, extrajudicial abductions and rapes of Pashtuns across Pashtunistan. The rally was spearheaded by prominent figures of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement – the founder Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, co-founder Ali Wazir, a former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, and the fervent human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir , daughter of Shireen Mazari former minister in Imran Khan’s government.
In a poignant post on Twitter, Shireen Mazari lamented , “Taking away our security cameras and her laptop and cell. We asked who they had come for and they just dragged Imaan out. They marched all over the house. My daughter was in her night clothes and said let me change but they just dragged her away. Of course no warrants or any legal procedure. State fascism. Remember we are only 2 women living in the house. This is an abduction”.
The Islamabad capital police have stated that Ali Wazir and Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir were sought for investigation, charged with offenses including interference in state affairs, organizing a sit-in, and resisting authority.
But the rally was not just a display of unity; it was a seismic tremor that shook the corridors of power. The trio, Ali Wazir, Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Manzoor Pashteen dared the unthinkable – challenging the seemingly untouchable Pakistan Army. Imaan Mazari demanded court martial proceedings for all the generals of the Pakistan Army if they have committed crimes against the people. In that charged atmosphere, Imaan Mazari’s resounding words echoed, “Yeh jo dehshat gardi hai . . .Iske piche wardi hai ” (This slogan pertains directly to Pakistan Army being the biggest terrorist organization). She further said that this powerful slogan should be shouted such that it echoes the GHQ, the headquarter of the Pakistan Army. She also reaffirmed their resolve not to back down in the face of a war driven by economic interests, shedding light on the presence of terrorists concealed in air-conditioned rooms.
Simultaneously, Ali Wazir, fresh out of his term as a parliament member, had merely voiced his criticism of Pakistan’s policies towards the Pashtuns and its pro-terrorist stance within the region. This marks a significant juncture, as the PTM confronts the Pakistan Army head-on, demanding Azadi (freedom) of the Pashtuns from the Punjabi Pakistan regime for the very first time.
According to a First Information Report (FIR) circulating on social media, Ali Wazir and Imaan Mazari are among numerous individuals charged under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for participating in a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) rally that aimed to “interfere in state affairs” on a Friday.
Even though things in Pakistan are chaotic, there haven’t been any sanctions or restrictions on global platforms for the human rights violations and suppression of minorities’ voices as the global media can’t talk about the atrocities the Pakistan Army does in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.