The arrests took place in Sector F-6 of the federal capital, where participants had assembled for the rally. Organizers had announced plans to march from F-6 to D-Chowk, a key protest site in the city center. Police briefly blocked nearby roads during the operation, reopening them after the detainees were taken into custody. Veteran human rights activists Tahira Abdullah and Farazana Bari are among those arrested.

The Aurat March X account quoted three journalists who were later released as saying that women were dragged and beaten up by police while being arrested.

District administration officials said the event had not been granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC), which is required to hold public gatherings. They added that Section 144 – a legal provision restricting public assemblies – was in effect in Islamabad at the time. Authorities said the participants were detained for violating these restrictions.

Aurat March organizers, however, said they had submitted an application for an NOC to the deputy commissioner roughly a month earlier and that their request had not been formally rejected.

The arrests drew widespread condemnation.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a post on X: “HRCP demands the immediate release of @Aurat_marchisb organisers and participants, who were arrested earlier today by the Islamabad police. Marking International Women’s Day is the legitimate right of all Pakistani women and must be respected by the authorities. Such oppressive measures in the name of maintaining law and order are highly deplorable.”

Former senator Farhatullah Babar tweeted: “Women activists in front of press club Islamabad arrested without provocation on Int’l Women Day today and sent to women police station. We are at police station for over 2 hours wanting to see them but access is not allowed. Sad, unfortunate. Demand immediate release.”

Former state minister and leader of the Awam Pakistan party, Zafar Mirza, wrote on X: “@AwamPakistan condemn the arrests of the participants of the Aurat March in Islamabad today on the occasion of International Women Day. Peaceful protest is the constitutional and democratic right of every citizen, and actions such as arrests for exercising this right are against democratic values. The government and relevant institutions should respect this fundamental right of citizens and immediately release the arrested persons.

However, Awaam Pakistan also emphasize that all protestors should abide by the law and regulations so that the protest remains peaceful and does not create any kind of unrest or conflict.”

The Aurat March is an annual demonstration held in several Pakistani cities on March 8 to mark International Women’s Day and highlight issues such as gender-based violence, workplace discrimination, and women’s rights.

The rallies have frequently faced pushback from authorities and conservative groups. In 2023, clashes broke out between police and demonstrators during the march in Islamabad, with officers blocking access to protest sites and attempting to disperse participants. In other years, organizers have faced legal petitions seeking to halt the demonstrations, as well as police cases and accusations over slogans and banners displayed during the rallies.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Pakistan Police Arrest 17 at Islamabad Aurat March on Women’s Day appeared first on Dissent Today.

Footage and reports from the scene show leaders of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ –widely understood as the rebranded form of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) – delivering hard-line speeches in the afternoon just before the blast. The event included rhetoric targeting Shia beliefs and identity. While the rally itself did not turn violent, its timing and message have intensified scrutiny of the sectarian undercurrents that afflict Pakistan.

Who Are ASWJ/SSP?

ASWJ traces its roots directly to Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, a Sunni extremist organization founded in the 1980s with an explicitly anti-Shia agenda. SSP was outlawed in 2002, but has continually resurfaced under new names, including ASWJ, allowing its activists and leaders to operate in public political and religious spaces.

Human rights reports and country analyses also document widespread incitement of hatred and violence against Shia Muslims by extremist clerics and groups in Pakistan, with rhetoric tolerated across many regions even when overt violence declines.

A history of anti-Shia violence

Shia Muslims – a minority in predominantly Sunni Pakistan – have been recurrent targets of sectarian violence over decades. Studies and historical records show thousands of Shias killed in militant attacks by groups that include violent offshoots of Sipah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamic State affiliates. These groups have on several occasions vowed to “rid Pakistan of Shias.”

Notable historical instances include the 1963 Therhi massacre in Sindh, where more than a hundred Shias were killed in a sectarian attack, and the 1988 Gilgit massacre, in which estimates place Shia fatalities in the hundreds amid targeted violence. Mass bombings in Quetta’s Shia-dominated neighborhoods and targeted killings also claimed hundreds of lives from 2010-2013.

More recently, a mass shooting ambush on a convoy of Shia travellers in Kurram District in late 2024 killed at least 54 people — one of the deadliest sectarian assaults in years.

These attacks are part of a long pattern of sectarian militancy in Pakistan, where extremist groups have periodically targeted Shias during worship, pilgrimage or travel.

Pakistan blames the “foreign hand”

In the aftermath of Friday’s Islamabad blast, Pakistani authorities have placed strong emphasis on foreign involvement in the attack.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said investigators had identified suspects with links to militants in Afghanistan and alleged support from foreign actors, including India – claims that Indian officials have called “baseless and pointless.”

The Islamic State’s Pakistan affiliate has also claimed responsibility for the bombing, underscoring the role of transnational extremist networks in attacking Shia targets.

However, critics argue that focusing on external blame may obscure the deep-rooted history of sectarian hatred and organized anti-Shia activity inside Pakistan, including groups like ASWJ/SSP whose rhetoric and mobilisation have helped normalise social hostility toward religious minorities.

Civil society advocates warn that without confronting these internal dynamics – including public hate speech and the continued operation of sectarian networks – Pakistan’s recurring cycles of violence against Shias will persist alongside any foreign threats.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Overlooking Homegrown Hate, Pakistan Hesitates to Call Islamabad Blast Anti-Shia Violence appeared first on Dissent Today.

Islamabad – Shafiullah Jan, special assistant to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister, appeared to refuse to categorically label the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a “terrorist organization” in an interview with a national news anchor last week – drawing sharp criticism from opponents, activists and media commentators.

At a press appearance this week, federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar played a video clip in which Jan was asked whether the outlawed TTP is a terrorist group. Jan declined to give an unequivocal “yes,” saying “there are groups within the TTP and those who are against the state are terrorists.”

The federal minister seized on the remarks, accusing Jan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of soft-pedaling Pakistan’s insurgent threat and extended an “olive branch” to militants.

“The spokespersons of the political party are afraid of talking about the terrorist group,” Tarar said, claiming that PTI leaders fear being attacked by the TTP and therefore won’t condemn them outright.

The comments reignited long-standing debates in Pakistan about counterterrorism, messaging and political strategy — and drawn fire on social media from journalists and activists.

“Inexcusable behavior. You cannot complain or clutch pearls about being smeared as terror sympathizers when your own government’s spokesman can’t muster the bare bones clarity or spine to call the mass murdering butchers of TTP a terrorist group,” wrote activist Ammar Rashid on X.

Raza Haroon, a former provincial minister, wrote: “#PTI appears visibly confused and lacking clarity. Today, the party’s Secretary General, @salmanAraja, categorically acknowledged the #TTP as a terrorist organisation, ironically on the same show..”, adding, “This only exposes the party’s persistent policy incoherence and internal contradictions.”

Some commentators also mentioned older controversies around incarcerated former premier Imran Khan’s statements on militant figures.

In June 2020, Khan drew international and domestic rebuke when he used the Urdu word “shaheed” (martyr) to describe slain Osama bin Laden during a National Assembly speech – language critics said blurred the line between strategic critique of U.S. foreign policy and reverence for a globally designated terrorist.

Opposition leaders at the time said bin Laden was “a terrorist through and through,” pointing to the attacks he orchestrated at home and abroad, including against Pakistani citizens, and questioning the prime minister’s choice of words.

The TTP has been proscribed in Pakistan for years and is widely accused of orchestrating deadly attacks across the country, particularly in the north-west.

Against that backdrop, critics argue that any ambiguity in public rhetoric undermines counterterrorism efforts and emboldens extremist narratives.

Political rhetoric that fails to clearly denounce militant groups like the TTP is problematic because it dilutes public understanding of the threat the group poses and weakens a unified national response to ongoing violence, including numerous recent attacks the TTP has carried out in Pakistan.

Ambiguous language from political figures, especially when they avoid plainly calling an active militant group a terrorist organization, can create confusion among citizens about who is a threat and why, making it harder to sustain broad support for the hard security and legal measures needed to counter the challenge, especially given that there has been a resurgence of the TTP threat recently.

Analysts and security experts have noted that shifting or evasive narratives around the TTP have left the Pakistani public “poorly informed and confused about the nature of the threat,” and have at times emboldened the insurgents by suggesting there might be political space for negotiation without accountability, a distinction crucial for effective counterterrorism policy and public resilience.

This ambiguity also has real implications for national cohesion and counterterror strategy. When elected officials hedge on defining terrorism, it can erode confidence in government commitment to security policy, weaken cross-party cooperation on counterterrorism, and even be exploited by militants in their propaganda, which actively seeks to shape narratives in their favor.

Such rhetoric risks normalizing extremist violence in public discourse and undermines long-standing frameworks like Pakistan’s National Action Plan, which was built on broad consensus to crack down on terrorism and eliminate proscribed organizations.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post PTI’s Ambiguous Rhetoric on Taliban Is Dangerous for Pakistan’s Counter-Extremism Efforts appeared first on Dissent Today.

ISLAMABAD – Militants in Pakistan’s volatile Waziristan region have escalated attacks on educational institutions just days before the end of 2025.

On Thursday, unidentified assailants detonated explosives at the Government Primary School in the Khushhali area of Ayaz Kot village in North Waziristan. According to reports, the attack obliterated much of the building and left more than 600 students without a classroom.

No group has claimed responsibility so far.

The attack follows a broader pattern of violence in the former tribal district, where armed groups have targeted schools amid a rise in terror attacks.

In December of last year, the United Nations special rapporteurs wrote a letter to the government of Pakistan, voicing their concerns over militant assaults on girls’ schools in the country.

In the letter, Farida Shaheed, special rapporteur on the right to education; Reem Alsalem, special rapporteur on violence against women and girls; and Laura Nyirinkindi, chair-rapporteur of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, called on the government of Pakistan to protect the fundamental right of women and girls to receive a safe and secure education.

“We are troubled by the persistent terrorist attacks targeting girls’ schools by groups opposing the education of women and girls. While all attacks on schools are reprehensible, those specifically aimed at girls’ institutions discourage women and girls from pursuing education, thereby reinforcing discrimination and societal inequalities,” the letter read.

Further, they requested information from the government regarding the investigations and actions being taken to safeguard girls’ schools in Waziristan.

Militants have bombed or burned girls’ schools in both North and South Waziristan, often citing opposition to female education.

Parents and rights advocates say the latest school bombing undermines efforts to expand schooling in a region where access to education, especially for girls, remains limited.

“This school was the only beacon of hope for our children,” one local elder was quoted as saying by Dawn, lamenting how the blast threatens young students’ futures.

Security challenges persist across Pakistan’s northwest, with Pakistani forces conducting counter-terror operations even as violence affects civilian life.

The rise in school attacks adds to mounting concerns about safety and the ability of the state to protect basic services in former conflict zones. Observers note that attacks on schools resonate widely in Pakistan, evoking memories of past high-profile assaults on educational institutions by extremists.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post 600 Students Affected As Blast Destroys Government School in Waziristan appeared first on Dissent Today.

He attributed this dire situation to an escalating government crackdown, widely believed to stem from his alleged association with the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

As one of Pakistan’s richest and most powerful business figures, best known as the head of Bahria Town Limited, Riaz has publicly complained for months about being targeted for “political motives.”

In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday, Riaz claimed that authorities had frozen Bahria Town’s bank accounts, confiscated vehicles, and detained dozens of employees. He added that these actions have “paralyzed” company operations and brought all projects to a standstill.

He added: “The situation has reached a point where we are being forced to completely shut down all Bahria Town activities across Pakistan.”

Before encountering these legal and financial challenges, Riaz was widely regarded as among the most powerful individuals in Pakistan. His real estate empire and political clout made him virtually untouchable.

His influence extended across political, military, and media circles, strengthening Bahria Town’s dominance in the country’s property sector.

Riaz cultivated close connections with senior political figures and high-ranking establishment officials, which often facilitated the expansion of his ventures by enabling Bahria Town to evict local communities with impunity. These evictions were typically orchestrated under state-driven “anti-encroachment” campaigns — conducted via colonial-era laws — yet carried out in coordination with Bahria Town. Such operations frequently targeted marginalized low-income groups without meaningful legal protections, compensation, or resettlement support.

Physical intimidation, legal coercion, and institutional impunity permitted construction to proceed while victims endured long-term displacement and impoverishment.

Even when heavy fines were imposed, the underlying forced-displacement patterns persisted.

In December 2019, Khan‑era Advisor Shahzad Akbar presented a sealed “non‑disclosure agreement” to the federal cabinet regarding a £190 million settlement between the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and developer Malik Riaz. Cabinet ministers were not shown the document and were told opening it would breach national security protocols.

The NCA had frozen Riaz’s assets and recovered £190 million, due to be returned to Pakistan. However, the deal arranged —through Akbar — funneled the money back to Riaz to pay off his liabilities to the Supreme Court, enabling Bahria Town to avoid default.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ministers, including Shireen Mazari, Pervez Khattak, Zubaida Jalal, testified in court that they had no access to the details, and were assured verbally that funds were from NCA to benefit Pakistan—not to Riaz personally.

Shortly after the transaction, the Al‑Qadir Trust was launched by Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi (among others), supposedly for charitable education projects. But accusations followed: PTI critics claim the trust was created only after the funds were transferred, to serve as a front for kickbacks from Bahria Town.

The reference alleges that 458 kanals of land valued at around Rs 530 million were donated to the trust, and an additional 240 kanals transferred to Farah Shahzadi, a close associate of Bibi.

NAB claims Imran’s cut amounted to roughly Rs 5 billion through this arrangement.

Last year, a report from Human Rights Watch described how authorities in Pakistan — often in coordination with private developers like Bahria Town — executed mass evictions of low-income communities under the guise of “anti‑encroachment” drives. Residents in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad were removed without notice, consultation, compensation, or resettlement support, which is a direct violation of international human rights standards. Many lost both homes and livelihoods in the process.

In 2021, eyewitness accounts and social‑media testimonies from Sindh relayed stories of families stripped of ancestral land by Bahria Town, forced to flee with virtually nothing, and deprived of acceptable means to rebuild their lives.

Honest police officials or judges who tried to pursue accountability were reportedly sidelined or transferred. Bahria Town’s influence over bureaucrats, politicians, and the media helped sustain its projects despite repeated Supreme Court rulings annulling the land transfers.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Once Above the Law, Now Under Fire: Malik Riaz’s Empire Faces Total Shutdown appeared first on Dissent Today.

Balochistan, which is Pakistan’s largest province, is ironically its poorest. It remains a hotbed of violence and discontent. On the eve of Election Day on February 8, 2024, two bomb blasts killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens in Balochistan. A year has passed since then, but there has been no progress in the investigations into these incidents of election violence.

These two separate bomb explosions took place near candidates’ offices in Balochistan. The first blast occurred in Pishin district, killing 16 people and injuring 25, while the second explosion in Qila Saifullah claimed the lives of 12 people and left 20 wounded.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for both attacks, which were carried out using motorbikes rigged with explosives. The explosions targeted an independent candidate’s office and a JUI-F party election office, causing widespread destruction and chaos.

Balochistan, a resource-rich but impoverished province, has a history of violence and has been plagued by a decades-long struggle for greater autonomy. Islamist militants, including the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), operate in the region, often exploiting the sense of frustration and disillusionment among local voters.

As the province conducted elections last February like the rest of the country, many voters in Balochistan felt neglected by the country’s political parties and often felt candidates were imposed on them without any connection to the province. The vote was seen as unfair by many, with some describing it as a “selection” rather than a genuine election.

“In Balochistan, people are no longer interested in elections or politics,” says Muhammad Ramzan, 36, a professor at a local university in Quetta. “We know the affairs of the province are controlled from the army headquarters, which is why it is pointless to vote,” he added.

The depoliticization of the youth was a key aspect that emerged during our interviews with students and professors at educational institutions in Quetta during a recent visit. The people of the province seem oblivious to the power games that are covered by the mainstream media day in and day out. Violence, unrest, and the never-ending war are what concern them, yet the mainstream media pays little attention to these issues facing the province.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Looking Back at 2024 Election Violence In Balochistan That The Rest of Pakistan Ignored appeared first on Dissent Today.

MNA Mohsin Dawar, the founder of NDM, has been raising voice against resurgence of Taliban in KP for the past several months on the floor of the Parliament. But the concerns expressed by Pashtun representatives about Taliban’s return appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. The NDM leadership’s visit to Waziristan comes at a time when the region faces uncertainty about its security.

Former MNA Bushra Gohar’s involvement with NDM and her recent interactions with local representatives in the province mark her return to mainstream politics. In 2018, she along with former Senator Afrasiab Khattak was expelled from Awami National Party (ANP), supposedly because their anti-establishment views were too ‘strong’ even for the secular ANP. But with the formation of NDM, these former lawmakers have made a comeback in politics.

Welcoming Bushra Gohar to North Waziristan, Mohsin Dawar tweeted, “Her visit marks the beginning of an important chapter of NDM’s politics of empowerment in Waziristan.”

Welcomed @BushraGohar Chairperson @NDM_Official Pakhtunkhwa in North Waziristan earlier today. Her visit marks the beginning of an important chapter of NDM’s politics of empowerment in Waziristan. pic.twitter.com/EPCfdp9r6x

— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) December 4, 2022

Dissent Today spoke to Bushra Gohar about her visit and the impact NDM has been able to create so far.

‘Suicidal policies of the state’

While commenting on the North Waziristan visit, she said KP has been the hardest hit by the ‘insecure security state’s suicidal policies’. “The people have suffered decades of death, destruction and displacements. The re-emergence of Taliban terrorists in Pakhtunkhwa as a result of the security forces’ secret talks has further exacerbated their trauma. The pain and loss of the people is unimaginable for mainstream Pakistan,” she said, adding that the district is heavily militarised and the civil administration’s role remains curtailed.

She says the mainstream media has been ignoring the uprising against Taliban in the province. “Provincial and federal governments have ignored the pleas of the people for peace, right to life and constitutional rights. Pakistan’s mainstream’s prioritise can be gauged from the total blackout of Pashtuns uprising against the resurgence of Taliban terrorists,” she told Dissent Today.

“There are daily targeted terrorists attacks but the Parliament, PM and CM are silent spectators. Nothing will change unless Pakhtunkhwa is demilitarised, Taliban Project is closed down and a truth commission formed for the decades of war and numerous military operations,” Gohar added.

In response to a question about what NDM stands for, she said the party was registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last year after two years of deliberations with “like-minded ideological political activists throughout the country”. “It is a political resistance movement for peace, democracy and constitutional rights and against all forms of violence, inequalities and state terrorism. It is a platform for the oppressed and marginalised,” she added.

Political future of women of the peripheries

When asked if her involvement will improve the state of Pashtun women and their inclusion in politics in these areas, said, “The security state’s Taliban Project is anti-Pashtun and anti-women. “Patriarchy, tribalism and state imposed mullahism and talibanisation have kept Pashtun women back and in darkness. It is an uphill struggle to free women from the multilayered shackles,” she said, lamenting that the state has remained callously insensitive to the plight of women and girls in the merged districts of Pakhtunkhwa. “Pashtun nationalist political leaders have also followed the policy of appeasement of the extremists when it comes to women rights. Women rights isn’t a priority for Political parties,” she says, hoping that NDM will work towards ending this gender imbalance.

Asked if NDM’s message resonates with the people she met during her visit to Waziristan, Bushra Gohar says the party’s core leadership is from North Waziristan, and it has a strong support in the district.

About the future of the merged districts amid Taliban’s return, Bushra Gohar says until there is a change in security policies and an end to the ‘Taliban Project,’ security situation will continue to worsen in the province.
The fresh wave of terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakhtunkhwa is connected with the new cycle of proxy war in the region. The US & allies Doha deal with the Taliban terrorists resulted in the occupation of Afghanistan,” she said.

Fariha Ijaz

The writer is an Assistant Editor at Dissent Today, focusing on extremism and political violence.

The post Why Is Pakistan Ignoring Anti-Taliban Uprising In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Asks Bushra Gohar appeared first on Dissent Today.