Afghanistan’s nexus with PTM exposed

When Pakistan delegation led by State Minister of Interior Shehryar Afridi went to the border at Torkham to receive the body of martyred SP Tahir Dawar, Afghan officials refused to hand over the body to Pakistan, and insisted that his body would be handed over to Mohsin Dawar. With its insistence, Afghanistan’s nexus with PTM stands fully exposed, as his murder and blaming Pakistan appear to be a preplanned and stage-managed activity. It was against all international and diplomatic norms to refuse handing over the body to Pakistan government and instead insisting on handing it over to Mohsin Dawar to make him a hero. The dragging of PTM in this episode was a ploy to give it a new lease of life in view of its rejection by the masses. Intelligence agencies believed that SP Tahir Dawar was kidnapped and murdered by ISIS at the behest of the Afghanistan’s secret service NDS.
SP Tahir Dawar had served in the counterterrorism operation, and efforts were made to kill him in Bannu on two occasions, using suicide bombers. The report also suggested that MNA Mohsin Dawar was in touch with NDS when the news of the murder surfaced on the media.
There is strong perception that Afghanistan’s agency may have asked Mohsin DAwar to place the blame on Pakistan. The army as well as State Minister for Interior Sheryar Afridi suggested that forces other than terrorists might also be involved in the brutal episode. The slain Superintendent of Peshawar Police’s rural circle was kidnapped from Islamabad on October 26 and taken to Mianwali from where he was taken to Bannu and then to Afghanistan. Earlier there was confusion about the whereabouts and fate of the kidnapped SP but on Wednesday Afghan foreign ministry confirmed to Pakistan the presence of his dead body in Nangarhar province.
In fact, there is incontrovertible evidence that PTM is playing in the hands of aliens agencies. The Washington Post had published a treatise authored by Pamela Constable and Haq Nawaz Khan on 22nd April, which was supportive of the PTM. 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, otherwise this nascent organization 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 had highlighted the protest demonstrations by Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM).
He wrote: “The major demands of the PTM as enunciated by Manzoor post, the arrest of SSP Rao Anwar, establishment of a judicial commission to investigate extrajudicial killings of Pakhtun’s, presenting missing persons in courts, release of innocents, lifting of curfew in FATA, stopping torture of locals and clearance of mines. Most of those who form part of the rally carry with them placards with photos of those missing.” Even in Washington, there was a protest demonstration which showed that alien agencies were supportive of the PTM narrative. 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. The fact of the matter is that Army destroyed the infrastructure and network of the terrorists and made it possible for IDPs to go back to their abodes.