PTM chief shifted to Dera Ismail Khan on court orders

PESHAWAR: The activists of various political parties staged protest outside the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday against the arrest of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen.

Prominent among the protesters were member of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Mir Kalam Wazir, senior lawyer Abdul Latif Afridi, political activist Dr Said Alam Mehsud and workers of Qaumi Watan Party, National Party and members of civil society organisations. They were chanting slogans against the arrest of Pashteen and demanding the release of all the arrested persons, including Idrees Khattak. Speaking on the occasion, Mir Kalam Wazir asked the PTM activists to remain calm and continue peaceful efforts for their rights. The MPA asked the authorities to drop the “fabricated cases” against Pashteen and other rights activists. He said these tactics would not deter them from raising voice for their rights. Mir Kalam asked the government to stop treating its citizens as enemies. He said the “highhandedness” would only exacerbate the situation. He said arresting peaceful citizens was unconstitutional and would be resisted through peaceful means.

The protesters demanded bringing to justice the people who violated the country’s law and illegally detained or abducted innocent people. The protesters marched from the Peshawar Press Club to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building and dispersed peacefully after registering their protest. Manzoor Pashteen, along with six other PTM activists, was arrested early Monday in Tehkal in Peshawar. The activists were released late at night. However, Pashteen was produced in the court of magistrate Naveed-Ullah Gigiani, which sent him to Central Prison Peshawar on a 14-day judicial remand.

A local court on Tuesday rejected the transit bail plea of Pashteen and ordered his transfer to Dera Ismail Khan where a case was lodged against him in the City Police Station on Jan 18. The First Information Report (FIR) accused him of using threatening and derogatory language against the state in a speech in DI Khan. According to the FIR, lodged by the Station House Officer on Jan 21, Pashteen was charged under sections 153-A, 18 MPO, 120-B, 124-A, 506 and 123-A of the Pakistan Penal Code for a speech made at a hall near Hayat Medical Complex on Circular Road in DI Khan.

This is for the first time that Manzoor Pashteen has been arrested by the police. He had founded the PTM in January 2018. Meanwhile, Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar and other activists were also arrested on Tuesday when they were staging protest outside the National Press Club in Islamabad. Initially, there were also reports about the arrest of MNA Ali Wazir. However, PTM activists said that Ali Wazir had not been arrested.

Political parties criticised the arrest of PTM leader during their peaceful protest in Islamabad. Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, in a statement, said that the arrest of PTM leader was suppressing the Pakhtun voice. The nationalist politician said a continuation of the “unjust” policies could be detrimental for the country’s security. He added that terrorism had destroyed the economy of the Pakhtun region while the “selected “government was pushing them to the wall. He said that the government was provoking Pakhtuns. Asfandyar said a peaceful protest was everyone’s right, adding that his party rejects such dictatorial policies and would raise voice against it.