They too exist

The protest by Pakthun tribesmen in Islamabad has now entered its fifth day. What had begun as a demand for the arrest of ‘police officer’ Rao Anwar for his role in the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud has now turned into a comprehensive set of grievances. The protesters are calling for all missing persons to be produced in court, an end to abductions and extrajudicial killings across Pakistan, an end to the harassment and humiliation of the people of the tribal areas by state forces and for the removal of all landmines from Fata, which have injured or killed a large number of people, as well as measures to improve rights and welfare for the people of the tribal areas.

All these demands deserve attention. Naqeebullah Mehsud was murdered in a staged ‘encounter’ with the Karachi police by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar who, for years and decades, served this country in his capacity as murderer at large. It was only after the courts took notice of the case that Anwar was forced to go into hiding; he has since vanished and there has been talk of attempts to get him out of the country. His current whereabouts are – we are expected to believe – unknown. This is happening in a country where ‘forced abductions’ – meaning people being picked up and held without charge and without the state even acknowledging that the person is in their custody – are fast becoming the norm, and not only in the tribal areas.

The people of Fata have, unfortunately, had to face humiliating treatment – even those IDPs who have returned home after having sacrificed so much. There has been a lot of talk about how the back of militancy has been broken, and many IDPs have now returned home. Given the inherent danger posed to people, there was little justification for using landmines and, now that the operations are in their final throes, the area needs to be cleared of landmines. A change in attitude is also needed. Fata’s Pakhtuns have been negatively stereotyped and looked at with suspicion for years in almost all urban areas in the country. It is a shame that this current protest has been virtually ignored by the media as sustained coverage would have gone a long way to dispel the perception of our Pakhtuns being treated this way. The protest has been completely peaceful and no threats have been issued by the protesters – a marked contrast to most other protests in the capital city, including the one at the Faizabad interchange last year. Also in marked contrast is the official response to this protest, which has received little to no official recognition – a drastically different treatment from the one received by the violent protesters at Faizabad. Those who have sacrificed their homes and their lives in the war on terror, have suffered bigotry and violence, have endured military operations and have been targeted by militants are today demanding justice. This is the very least they deserve.