Interim Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai on Tuesday said the provincial government has placed Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen in the custody of Dera Ismail Khan Police a day after arresting him from Chaman.
On Monday, after he addressed a demonstration against the alleged extrajudicial killing of Balaach Mola Bakhsh in Chaman, Levies and police personnel detained Pashteen from the Gudhamo area of the district amidst claims his party workers had opened fire on police. The PTM has denied this, alleging the police had initially opened fire on them. Additionally, authorities have claimed there is an existing ban on Pashteen’s entry into Balochistan and he violated the order by reaching Chaman.
Addressing the situation, Achakzai confirmed Pashteen was no longer in Balochistan and had been placed in the custody of D.I. Khan Police. Denying the PTM’s claims of police opening fire on Pashteen’s vehicle while he was traveling from Chaman to Turbat, he alleged the PTM leader’s bodyguard had opened fire near the Chaman Press Club, injuring a woman and a child.
In his statement, the caretaker further alleged there were growing calls from civil society for a ban on the PTM in Balochistan. “Through social media and other sources, people are declaring the PTM a terrorist organization,” he claimed, adding that the provincial government was examining the situation and would take an appropriate decision if required.
“The Balochistan government is mulling a ban on PTM in the province,” he added.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it was “alarmed” to learn of Pashteen’s arrest, adding it was “clear that the PTM’s leaders and supporters have been harassed continuously for what the state erroneously deems ‘anti-state’ activities.”
Maintaining the PTM had “never resorted to violence and has merely exercised its right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression,” the HRCP demanded an impartial inquiry into the arrest. “The state must also cease its unwarranted antagonism against the movement’s leaders. Their legitimate grievances must be heard fairly,” it added.