Pashtun Tahafuz Movement(Pashtun Defence Movement) today completed its first anniversary of the foundation
The Balochistan Post Correspondent
Pashtun nation across the world, ones who are affiliated with the famous rights movement in Pakistan and the ones who support its cause are all celebrating its first anniversary of foundation today on Saturday.
The movement existed many years ago by the name of Mehsud Tahafuz Movement under the leadership of Manzoor Pashteen, but at first, it was limited to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Area(FATA) and mostly striven for the rights of Mehsud Tribe of Pashtuns.
However, it emerged as a representative of Pashtun nation after the tragic murder of a young Pashtun man in Karachi city of Pakistan, which was later proved to be an staged encounter of the young Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud allegedly by the infamous SP Rao Anwaar.
PTM, as it was limited to the FATA, came out in protest for the murder of Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud, who had two children and was an aspiring model.
Mehsud tribesmen, who were later joined by students and other Pashtun nationalist party members, sat in front of Islamabad Press Club for several consecutive days.
The sit-in in front of the Islamabad Press Club highlighted the plight of Pashtuns generally in Pakistan and particularly in FATA; after the success of the protests in Islamabad, the movement was renamed as Pashtun Tahafuz Movement on this day a year ago.
Today, Pashtuns across the world celebrate the first foundation anniversary of the PTM.
Talking about the first anniversary of PTM on an America Based news channel, Voice of America (Deewa), Manzoor Pashteen said that before the movement, Pashtun nation was not aware of their own condition, they were not aware of Missing Persons, they had never heard of Landmines and Extra-Judicial killings.
پی ٹی ایم کے قیام کوایک سال پوراہو چکا ہے اس ایک سال کی جدوجہد میں پی ٹی ایم نے اپنے مضبوط اور حقائق پر مبنی دلائل سے اس مصنوعی ریاستی بیانیہ کو اڑا کے رکھ دیا جس کی بنیاد جھوٹ پر قائم تھی اور جس کے تشکیل کے لیے تمام ریاستی اداروں کو بروئے کار لایا گیا تھا۔ #HappyAnniversaryPTM
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) February 2, 2019
Another prominent leader of PTM and a member of National Assembly, Mohsin Dawar, In a tweet said that PTM has eliminated the artificial rhetoric of the state, which was based on lies and the state machinery worked day and night to build that lie.
#PTM1stAnniversary #HappyAnniversaryPTM
Celebrating #PTM #Pashtun youth’s struggle for Constitutional rights & justice…May your strength grow by leaps and bounds…#ChaZulmKaiKhilafYu!!! #DaSangaAzadiDa?
In solidarity, BG https://t.co/P31jiesS00— Bushra Gohar (@BushraGohar) February 2, 2019
Bushra Gohar, a former member of parliament and a former member of Awami National Party, who was allegedly removed from the party for her support for the PTM, in a tweet said that she was celebrating the anniversary of Pashtun youth’s struggle for their constitutional rights and justice.
PTM supporters on Social media were using the Hashtag #HappyAnniversaryPTM to express their views regarding the day.
In our times, the struggle for Pashtun rights can be divided into two phases. The pre PTM phase of inaction & confusion and the post PTM phase of resistance & clarity. Thanks to PTM, the hopelessness of the previous phase has largely been replaced with hope. #HappyAnniversaryPTM
— Imran Khan (@iopyne) February 2, 2019
A supporter of PTM on Twitter, Imran Khan said, “In our times, the struggle for Pashtun rights can be divided into two phases. The pre- PTM phase of inaction & confusion and the post-PTM phase of resistance & clarity. Thanks to PTM, the hopelessness of the previous phase has largely been replaced with hope.”
Where PTM has succeeded to win the support of Pashtun nation and managed Pakistan’s government and army to succumb to their demands, therein, it also has faced state’s might in the form of illegal abductions of their members, extra-judicial killings, bans on traveling and baton charging on their protests.
Future of PTM is still unclear, whether the movement will turn into a political party or continue to strive for the rights of Pashtun nation in the form of a rights movement.