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An anti-Pakistan demonstration was staged by the activists of the Pashtun Takhafuz Movement (PTM), a civic movement of the Pashtun community against Pakistani security establishment for its direct and indirect involvement in human rights abuses against the suppressed ethnic Pashtuns, and the country’s state sponsored terrorism on both sides of the unauthorized Durand Line, resulting in Pashtun genocide by the notorious security agencies of Pakistan, dominated by the northern population of Punjab province. The protest was carried out outside the UN headquarters in New York on Friday.
The protesters came hard over Pakistani Army for its anti-Pashtun policies which have led to human rights violations, enforced disappearances, displacements, F-16 Jet bombardment, and extrajudicial killings of ethnic Pashtuns across Pakistan—a country which has been turned into a hell and slaughter-house for Pashtuns and other suppressed nations within the country.
The PTM activists, comprising Pashtuns from Pakistan and Afghanistan appealed to the United Nations to impose required sanctions against Pakistan to force it to abandon its project of regional and international terrorism. The protesters denounced Pakistan, by raising slogans of disgrace such as – “I’m a student, not a terrorist,” “Who’s behind terrorism, Pakistan,” and “Stop Pashtun Profiling in Pakistan” and raised black flags of PTM. The Protesters also displayed banners and play-cards with anti-Pakistan slogans.
The PTM members in the United States demanded the immediate recovery of missing persons and to put an end to Pakistani support to terrorist groups, roaming freely on its soil. It also demanded an investigation into the military atrocities, human rights abuses and Pakistan’s pro-terror policies, resulting in genocide of the Afghans on both sides of the line, including other small nations and religious minorities in Pakistan. The protesters also sought the involvement of the international community to held Pakistan accountable and trigger it into the court by aligning the Pashtuns directly with the international community—a way forward to confront and defeat Pakistani-state terrorism and establish lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and around the region. The protesters also hit out Pakistani Army for indulging with its war proxies for conducting state terrorism on both sides of the line. According to various reports, more than 60,000 Pashtuns have been killed and over 32,000 are being forcefully disappeared by the Pakistan’s notorious security agencies.
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Mujeeb Rehman, a Pashtun journalist, quoted by ANI News as saying, “The purpose of the protest is to ask the UN to take notice of the human rights abuses across the Pashtun territories. Rehman underscored that the US-based PTM is asking the United Nations for guaranteeing basic human rights such as the right to life with peace and dignity. The protesters also demanded the UN involvement in the Naqibullah Mahsood case, because they were not satisfied with the hostile attitude of the state institutions of Pakistan for being treating Rao Anwar as VIP guest. Rehman claimed that the Pashtuns were being harassed at check-posts, adding that there was a crackdown on PTM activists in Pakistan. “Students are being put in jail and are being tortured. They wanted to protest against this brutality. There are cases against the students,” he further said. Rehman finally asked the UN to take serious notice on the harassment of Pashtuns at check-posts, abductions and extrajudicial killings and inquire the Pakistan government over the issues.
Another protestor, Wali Khan, was seen holding a banner which read – “UN must ask Pakistan to respect basic human rights.”
This comes at a time when the PTM Chief Manzoor Pashteen, a folk Pashtun Hero, emerged from the most troubled region of South Waziristan appealed to the entire Afghan nation to stage peaceful protests in front of UN offices around the globe to seek its support against military atrocities and human rights violations by Pakistan’s security agencies and State sponsored terrorism of Pakistan against the Pashtuns on both sides of the unauthorized Durand Line.
Prior to this, two gatherings, comprising more than 600 elders and youth from the Tribal Region, known as FATA were held last year in Jalalabad, capital city of eastern Nangarhar province and Capital, Kabul in which all the participants called on Pakistan to withdraw its civil and military administration from Pashtun areas, especially FATA. The participants also urged the international community to help Afghanistan and the Pashtuns on the other side of the Durand Line to confront and defeat Pakistan’s state sponsored terrorism.
Since the emergence of the PTM, Pashtuns around the world have been staging peaceful demonstrations and urge the international community to press Pakistan and save Pashtuns from the state sponsored terrorism of Pakistan on Pashtun soil. However, the international community has yet to device severe punishment for Pakistan to turn around its projects of regional and international terrorism.
Before the ongoing Pashtun Spring in Pakistan, residents of North Waziristan staged a demonstration in front of the National Press Club in Islamabad. The protesters slammed Pakistan’s security forces for their atrocities and called on the United Nations to take serious notice of human rights violations and military brutalities by Pakistani forces across the FATA.
The PTM has provided us with an opportunity to mobilise and align people and states against state terrorism and terror sponsor states. The Pashtuns in Pakistan deserve national freedom by revisiting the Durand Line and Afghanistan and its people are in dire need of peace and stability which could be a dream until the terror networks in Pakistan were not eliminated and the Pakistan’s notorious Afghan Course was not changed.
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It is the responsibility of the US-led international community to address the real problems and issues, as per Pashtun/Afghan perspective, instead of further dependency on the lies and deceits of Pakistan, that has been conducting state terrorism on both sides of the unauthorised Durand Line in order to sustain instability and insecurity across Afghanistan and undermining the US led war on terror through its duplicitous game. However, the Afghan government must have to device counter- strategies, when it comes to Pakistan and its Jihadist policies. The recent issuance of religious decree by the Afghan Ulema against suicide bombers and war in Afghanistan is a highly condemnable development. The support to Afghan-led peace process televised by the regional and international community, specifically the support of Muslim countries could be fruitful in isolating Pakistan and its Jihadist strategies.
In the wake of the US high-ranking diplomat, Alice Wells visit to Kabul and Islamabad, the Afghan government has to gear up diplomatic efforts to protect our historic rights and lead the entire Afghan nation towards bright and peaceful future. In this regards, the role of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the country’s National Security Adviser, Haneef Atmar, serving as a greater strategist could be a milestone. The Afghan people and the international community should lend required support behind this team to pull Afghanistan and Afghan Millat out of the ongoing heart-wrenching situations.
It is worth mentioning that further dependency on Pakistan’s lies and deceits and warlords in Afghanistan could be suicidal for the US led community.
According to experts of Pashtun and regional affairs, replacing Pakistan’s disputed occupation by installation of UN led administration across the FATA and other Pashtun and Baloch territories in Pakistan could be the ultimate answer to the complex problems of all the stakeholders.
The Pashtuns in Pakistan, especially the FATA people, serving as sandwich between Pakistan’s military institutions; their war proxies have changed their loyalties on the so- called Pakistan-ism and man-made religious extremism. They want change. They deserve change and national freedom, instead of turning it into China-Punjab colony forever. State sponsored terrorism, posed by Pakistan and the China-Punjab nexus could be confronted and defeated through a strong strategic partnership and alliance among the Pashtun, Baloch plus Sindhi and the US led international community which could be nurtured by providing them with an opportunity to decide their fate on international forums, after prior consultation with Afghanistan and to be backed by the US, Uk and etc.
The deployment of UN led administration could also help to eradicate terror networks and their launching pads along the Durand Line, as Pakistan is failed in turning around its project of regional and international terrorism. The US Drone strikes must be extended to settled districts of Pakistan, including Islamabad to target the leadership of terrorist outfits and dismantle their networks.
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In addition to that, economic and diplomatic sanctions should be imposed on that country and enlist and blacklist the individuals and government institutions for having links with terrorist groups and harbouring and sheltering them across Pakistan. The security of the country’s nuclear weapons must be handed over to the UN-led peacekeeping forces to be not fallen into wrong and extremist hands. However, General Zia and his jihadist-doctrine are still alive in Pakistan. We have no option, rather to bury them forever and disintegrate the Punjabistan, peacefully to pave way to regional and global peace and stability. Moreover, the Afghan government and the US President Trump administration should stay vigilant during the ongoing round of multi-parties talks to be not deceived at the hands of Pakistan’s military establishment. We should have a comprehensive and result-oriented vision and course of action to be exercised and implemented, if Pakistan fails once again to go through the legitimate demands of Afghanistan and the US-led International community.
– Imtiaz Wazir is a Kabul-based Afghan Nationalist from North Waziristan, Former central chairman of Pakhtun Students Federation and Former Sub Editor at Afghanistan Times.