The federal government on Sunday notified a ban on the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), declaring the group a threat to national peace and security.
In a notification, the Interior Ministry said the federal government had “reasons to believe” the PTM was engaged in “certain activities which are prejudicial to” national peace and security. Exercising powers conferred under Section 11B of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, the government listed the PTM in the First Schedule as a “proscribed organization.”
Formed in 2014 over the killing of a youth from South Waziristan, the PTM is led by Manzoor Pashteen and has repeatedly been accused of fomenting unrest and working at the behest of foreign agencies. The group vehemently denies such charges, maintaining it is seeking the due rights of Pashtuns and an end to extrajudicial killings in the region. Since its formation, Pashteen has been placed under arrest multiple times.
The decision to ban the group comes ahead of the PTM’s planned Pashtun Qaumi Jirga, scheduled for Oct. 11. Earlier, security agencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had conducted several raids on camps set up the PTM to encourage participation in the Jirga, prompting condemnations from human rights groups. The backlash from the raids has seen the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments trade blame for the action, with no clear indication of who is at fault.
In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned the ban, describing the PTM as a “rights-based movement that has never resorted to violence and always used the framework of the Constitution to advocate its cause.” It said the “extreme” decision was unwarranted and urged the government to withdraw its notification and allow the PTM to continue its activities. It also called for the immediate release of PTM leader Ali Wazir.
Former MNA Mohsin Dawar, who supports the PTM, also condemned the move. “This sends a message to families of missing persons and those demanding human rights that the State doesn’t believe in peaceful struggles,” he wrote on X.