Mohammad Jamil
FATA after its merger with KP is in the mainstream with the support of majority of political parties, and elected representatives will look after the interests of the people. Only a few disgruntled elements and inept leaders had opposed the merger, who were rejected by the people in 2018 elections. Rejected leaders supported the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movemment (PTM) and Manzoor Pashteen leave no opportunity to harm the ideological basis of Pakistan. Manzoor Pashteen, whose name popped-up during demonstration against extra-Judicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, has been critical of Pakistan’s military check posts and harassment of the ordinary Pashtuns during operations. PTM leaders claim to be champions of Pushtun rights; and they have been taking out rallies and holding public meetings, which became possible only because army and the people had given tremendous sacrifices to eliminate terrorism.
Army is sincerely making efforts to uplift the life of masses in Pashtun Tribal belt, and the people of the area are witness to the fact that Pakistan Army has contributed a great deal towards nation-building both in kinetic and non-kinetic realms. Inter alia, the socio-economic spheres such as education, health, communication and telephony, national logistics, infrastructural development, and disaster management including rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities in the aftermath of natural calamities are worth noting. While pressing for redress of their grievances, the PTM leaders and their supporters badmouthed Pakistani soldiers by calling them “terrorists in uniforms”. Manzoor Pashteen sent out misleading tweets about Pakistan Army. One of Pashteen’s tweets had an image of destroyed homes that he falsely claimed was the result of Pakistan Army action in FATA. It was an image from a 2011 ‘Radio Free Europe story’ titled “Taliban Burn Villages in Northwestern Pakistan”.
Another Pashteen tweet included the picture of an Afghan child who was killed by the Taliban in Helmand province. Pashteen incorrectly labeled him a Pakistani Pashtun child in FATA and falsely claimed the child was killed by the Pakistan Army. The Washington Post had published a treatise authored by Pamela Constable and Haq Nawaz Khan on 22nd April, which was supportive of the PTM, and highlighted the outpourings of its leaders maligning Pakistan’s armed forces. It however admitted foreign hand behind the movement. The authors stated: “The new Pashtun movement has received support from Afghans, including a strong endorsement from President Ashraf Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun. But this has only made the movement more controversial, because relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are tense.” There is a perception that Afghan intelligence agency NDS and Indian RAW have made inroads in the PTM as well.
And there is a reason behind that, as PTM does not have enough funds to organize demonstrations and rallies in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore. In his write-ups, Harsha Kakar, Major General (retd) from Indian army has been highlighting the protest demonstrations by Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM). In Washington, there was a protest demonstration which showed that alien agencies were supportive of the PTM narrative. The question is who is funding the PTM? Pashteen’s supporters traveled to Swat on 29th April in at least 270 vehicles, mostly coasters, counted at Dargai check post located near the Dargai fort. Local politicians claimed that they had told the administration not to allow outsiders enter Swat (enjoying peace and tourism) in such large numbers from outside, but their suggestion was not heeded. Pashteen and others including Mohsin Dawar spoke about extrajudicial killings, missing persons and mistreatment of Pashtoons in Pakistan.
While Pakistan’s mainstream TV media has generally ignored these rallies something that is bitterly criticized by the supporters of PTM and commentators in western media. BBC Pashto, VOA (Deva) and major US publications like New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Asia Times and others extensively covered Manzoor Pashteen’s activities. Exaggerated interest of mainstream US media and think tanks in PTM has further convinced most in Pakistani media and political parties that western interests led by the US are actively supporting PTM. Photos of Manzoor Pashteen also emerged on social media, suggesting intimate contacts with Mehmood Achakzai of PkMAP. Achakzai and other leaders of PkMAP prominently appeared in PTM rallies, but the PTM movement is losing stream as people started understanding game plan of Manzoor Pashteen, rejected leaders and alien agencies.
