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A Year After Elections, Ex-Waziristan Parliamentarian Unable to Find Justice for Fallen Comrades

Ailia Zehra — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 07:38:37 +0000

This report is part of Dissent Today’s special series documenting violence and alleged irregularities during Pakistan’s 2024 general elections.

When Mohsin Dawar narrowly escaped an elaborate assassination attempt in which his vehicle was sprayed with more than 60 bullets about a month before the 2024 general elections, he saw no option but to slow down his campaign. He was seeking re-election to a National Assembly seat from his hometown of North Waziristan — a restive tribal district of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is one of the areas in the country worst affected by Taliban militancy and the war on terror.

On the morning of Jan. 3, Dawar’s corner meetings planned in the village of Tappi, North Waziristan, had to be abruptly cancelled when his vehicle came under attack from around 15 assailants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He survived the attack because the vehicle was armoured, but the attackers — determined to get him — launched another attack as more militants joined in from across Waziristan.

As Dawar was whisked away to safety at a home in the village, his private security and the police guarding his convoy sought help from the Pakistan Army to fight the attackers. But they received no response or assistance. Despite this, they continued to engage the militants and were able to drive them away after 45 minutes of violent clashes involving live ammunition and heavy weapons.

“It was a miracle I survived that attack,” Dawar told Dissent Today in a phone interview, saying that his supporters, people from his tribe, and the police were on their own against the militants, with no assistance from the military. After this near-death experience, he had to end his participation in campaign events due to security concerns, relying on his party colleagues and supporters to convey his campaign message.

Dawar, who heads the progressive National Democratic Movement (NDM) that he founded in 2021 along with a group of secular Pashtun politicians, has been vocal against the resurgence of Taliban terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during his time in the National Assembly from 2018 to 2023. During an in-camera meeting of the parliament’s National Security Committee held in 2022 to discuss the rise in terrorism in the province, Dawar was reportedly the only member to challenge then-Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Faiz Hameed about the military’s decision to negotiate with the Taliban.

Even before he began his 2024 election campaign, he heard threats and warnings that the Taliban wanted to target him. Following the attack in Waziristan, personnel from the security agencies warned him that this time the militants had sent a suicide bomber who was roaming around his chamber in the town of Miranshah, disguised as one of his many guests and waiting to hug him.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has a bloody history of election violence, with candidates and representatives of secular parties being attacked by militants in the lead up to the polls. Like a number of other anti-Taliban candidates in the province, Dawar had to go to the polls amid this wave of fear, but he and his followers remained determined not to end the campaign.

The former lawmaker could not stay in one city for more than three days and would travel from Waziristan to Peshawar to Islamabad and back, just to thwart another potential assassination attempt. “Due to this, there was virtually no election campaign,” Dawar said, adding that his supporters remained on the ground, but it was hard for the party to counter the opponents’ narrative because of his absence from campaign activities.

These threats, however, were not the only hurdle in their way. Just weeks before the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) altered the electoral scheme in Waziristan, moving 56 polling stations from areas that Dawar believed were his strongholds to less accessible locations. The changes were made at the request of the Islamist Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), one of Dawar’s main opponents, whose candidate would later be declared the winner in this constituency.

Most of these polling stations were moved to properties owned by or in use by members or leaders of the JUI-F, which Dawar and his supporters feared could be used as leverage against them.

The JUI-F’s request to change these polling stations was initially rejected, but the election officials overseeing the process later accepted the demand abruptly. Dawar says his sources in the civil administration informed him that the relevant officials had to approve the application after being pressured to do so by military officials.

The NDM wrote applications to the district returning officer and the ECP, expressing concerns over this change, but received no response.

Despite this series of setbacks, the newly formed NDM had fielded 17 candidates for national and provincial assembly seats and was eager to navigate its first general election. Dawar said the party had conducted multiple training sessions for its polling agents to thwart rigging attempts. “We considered every scenario [of electoral rigging] and trained our polling agents accordingly.”

But Election Day on Feb. 8 arrived with yet another act of terror: a suicide attack targeting NDM’s three female polling agents in the same village where Dawar had earlier survived an assassination attempt. Although the women were not physically injured, the trauma left them unconscious, forcing them to abandon their duties.

Dawar later heard reports that the Taliban had taken over some polling stations in the village. “We wrote to the ECP about this attack on our polling agents and the militants taking control of the polling stations, but we did not hear back,” he said.

As unofficial election results began to emerge, reports surfaced that a Returning Officer (RO) — the main official responsible for consolidating results — was tampering with votes in the constituency and increasing the JUI-F’s count. Dawar went to the RO’s office located in the Miranshah cantonment area and confronted him with information he had received about the tampering. “The RO denied altering the results. But he later disappeared, and we could not find him all day,” Dawar says. The RO’s mysterious disappearance led to unusual delays in the counting process.

Dawar and other candidates stayed the night at the building, waiting to receive an update. On the night of Feb. 9, they were informed that the pending results from the Mir Ali district wouldn’t be received until the next day. Since the counting was delayed until then, candidates were asked to leave the office and return the following morning. At the time they left the RO’s office that night, Dawar was leading by more than 5,000 votes.

But they woke up next morning to a hurriedly issued notification from the ECP for the provincial assembly seat of PK-103, where a candidate who had been trailing by a significant number of votes since the voting day, was declared the winner.

“That’s when we realized they were completely distorting the results,” Dawar says.

Two days before the election, Dawar had issued a video message predicting that election officers may change the final results on Form 45, a crucial document used in Pakistan’s post-electoral process, which discloses the outcomes of the voting procedure at a particular polling place.

“That’s exactly what they later did to us and many other candidates across Pakistan,” he says.

When Dawar and his supporters arrived at the RO’s office in Cantonment area once again that morning, they were stopped at the gate, which was sealed by security forces.

According to Pakistan’s election laws, candidates and their polling agents are entitled to be present at the location where votes are being counted and gathered. But no candidates were being allowed to enter the premises, in violation of the law.

After being denied entry, Dawar and his supporters began a protest outside the building, demanding access to the RO’s office. “Our concern was that our mandate was being stolen inside,” Dawar said.

As the protesters marched toward the RO’s office, chanting slogans, security forces stationed at the gate suddenly opened fire on them. Dawar was the first to be hit, receiving two bullets in his right leg. Three of his supporters died on the spot from the gunfire, while another succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. 15 other protestors were injured.

Dawar was rushed to a nearby hospital in Waziristan. As he received treatment for his bullet wounds at the hospital, a candidate from the JUI-F was announced the winner from the constituency.

Pakistan’s mainstream media conducted marathon transmissions covering the elections, but this incident of election violence targeting a former parliamentarian barely registered in the mainstream media. On the contrary, sections of the media reported it as an attack on the Pakistani military, airing misleading claims from government officials that Dawar’s supporters had attacked security forces and injured policemen.

Miranshah district administration officials had claimed at the time that Dawar’s supporters tried to force their way into the building and injured policemen in the process. However, according to two Waziristan-based reporters Dissent Today spoke to, the local police denied that their personnel were killed or injured in the incident, disputing the official version that held the protesters responsible.

Then-interim Prime Minister Anwaar Kakar repeated these accusations during a media briefing, and most media outlets reported the questionable official version, which cleared the security forces of responsibility for opening fire at the protest.

“I did not expect them to shoot,” Dawar said, adding that he wouldn’t have staged a protest and endangered his supporters’ lives if he had known the security forces would open fire on them.

Three of the men killed in the gunfire were under 30 years of age, while one was in his late 40s.

After initial treatment in Waziristan, Dawar was moved to a hospital in Peshawar for better medical care, where he remained under treatment for four days. During this time, no mainstream politician — including those who were once his allies in the Pakistan Democratic Movement — reached out to him to inquire about his health. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who called him to ask for details about the incident, was the only exception.

A year after this incident, no FIR has been registered for the killing of the four protesters, as authorities rejected Dawar’s application for a case and registered a counter FIR against him and his supporters in response. Their complaint before the election tribunal regarding alleged rigging in the constituency has not been heard either and continues to face delays.

Dawar says he had expected to face hurdles during the election but had not anticipated that the establishment would go to such lengths to keep him away from Parliament.

His sources among security agencies often tell him that the main reason he is unacceptable to the powers that be is his stance against the Taliban. “Many political forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chose to accept the Taliban as a reality after they gained ground in the province,” Dawar says, but adds that his party will never accept the militant group’s presence in the region.

“We are not willing to compromise on any part of our narrative,” he says.

Additional reporting by Rai Bhittani in North Waziristan.

Ailia Zehra

The writer is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today. She covers politics, human rights, and religious extremism. She tweets at @AiliaZehra.

The post A Year After Elections, Ex-Waziristan Parliamentarian Unable to Find Justice for Fallen Comrades appeared first on Dissent Today.

Banning PTM Sends a Dangerous Message to the Youth

Mohsin Dawar — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 04:56:07 +0000

The government of Pakistan’s decision to ban the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), a social movement that originated from the country’s peripheries, sends a troubling message to citizens—that their constitutional rights do not matter and that maintaining a non-violent stance will lead to harsh treatment. Since its inception, PTM has remained committed to peaceful protests. The non-violent nature of the struggle has been the movement’s greatest strength, and this peaceful approach is what appears to have provoked the state. The PTM has always been peaceful in its struggle, contrasting sharply with the actions of some mainstream political parties, such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which have resorted to violence in recent protests in several cities. Despite the unrest caused by these groups, they have been allowed to operate.

The way the state recently attempted to violently prevent the Grand National Jirga (dialogue) of Pashtuns organized by the PTM further reveals its intolerance for peaceful protests. The PTM called for a grand dialogue to discuss the situation of Pashtuns in Pakistan, the ongoing proxy wars in the region and their impact on Pashtuns, the militarization of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the way forward. Pashtun political parties, academics, activists, and Pashtuns from various backgrounds were invited to the jirga. District Khyber was selected as the venue for the gathering. However, the state began disrupting preparations by initiating a crackdown against the PTM. In response to this call for the jirga, the federal government announced a ban on the PTM and declared it a proscribed organization. On October 9, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and Frontier Corps launched an attack on the campsite of the jirga, opening fire on PTM activists present at the venue. Four PTM activists were killed, and many others were injured. Mobile networks in the area were shut down. This is how the state, including both the federal and provincial governments, chose to respond to the PTM’s call for a gathering of Pashtuns for peace.

About a month ago, the Supreme Court of Pakistan was compelled to reverse a ruling in favor of the rights of a religious minority group due to violent protests and threats from TLP aimed at the Chief Justice. This difference in the state’s response to protests by social movements and extremist groups highlights a concerning reality: violent groups are taken seriously, while peaceful advocacy is met with repression.

The origin of PTM

The PTM was founded primarily as a response to the state’s oppression in the Pashtun regions of Pakistan. Over the decades, the state used the region of ex-FATA (tribal districts that were merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018) as a launching pad for Project Taliban, a state agenda aimed at protecting Western interests. Under this project, the people of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province endured significant injustices and had no channels through which to voice their grievances, leading to a constant rise in oppression.

It was the state that initially settled militants in that region, which resulted in widespread violence, including suicide bombings. After several years of TTP’s terror, a military operation against the Taliban was launched that displaced locals. They were reassured that normalcy would return when they are back home after the military operations. However, upon returning, they found their homes demolished. Instead of leading honorable lives after the military action, they faced further humiliation. Security forces regularly raided their homes without explanation, and they endured mistreatment at check posts—all justified under the guise of anti-militancy operations.

After the military operation, it became evident that terrorists had not been the primary targets; rather, it was the homes of ordinary citizens that were destroyed. The state displaced Pashtuns in the name of peace and subjected them to further humiliation. In this context, Pashtun youth rallied against the state. The PTM was founded in 2018 following the brutal killing of a Pashtun youth, Naqeebullah Mehsud, in a fake police encounter. The movement gained momentum very rapidly in a very short period of time.

PTM emerged as a response to decades of oppression faced by the Pashtun people. It laid the foundation for a new political narrative that challenged the establishment’s policies, advocating for justice and rights for the Pashtun community. And the movement began facing intimidation right after its formation.

The government of Pakistan’s decision to ban the PTM, a social movement that originated from the country’s peripheries, sends a troubling message to citizens—that their constitutional rights do not matter.

The state’s double standards

The state of Pakistan engaged in negotiations with the Taliban during a period marked by brutal acts, including beheadings and suicide bombings across the country. As a result of the violence, the government felt compelled to negotiate with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and their initial plan was to concede certain areas to the militant group. However, these intentions were disrupted by our protests. The state’s current accommodation of the Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suggests that this policy of giving space to the militants is being repeated.

This pattern of double standards was also apparent during the protests against election rigging earlier this year. While the PTI was allowed to protest and control the narrative surrounding alleged electoral mismanagement, our party, the National Democratic Movement, faced violence when we protested against rigging in Waziristan. I was shot and injured, and four of my colleagues lost their lives two days after the election—all because we sought accountability regarding the announcement of results in our constituency. The recent killing of four PTM activists during the state’s attempts to prevent the grand jirga serves as a reminder that this policy of using force against peaceful Pashtun protestors continues.

This disparity in the treatment of dissenting voices in Punjab compared to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is alarming. The state has always overlooked the unrest perpetuated by religious extremist groups, such as the TLP and TTP. In contrast, peaceful social movements emerging from peripheral regions face disproportionate targeting and repression. This unjust treatment of individuals from smaller provinces has been a key feature in Pakistan’s relationship with these regions.

PML-N and PPP’s refusal to learn from the past

I urge the parties leading the federal government to learn from their past mistakes. During my time in the last National Assembly, I consistently warned PTI lawmakers not to facilitate legislation that granted unchecked power to the military establishment, as it could ultimately be used against them. I warned them that surrendering civilian authority to the establishment might make their own party vulnerable in the future, and that’s exactly what happened.

Given PTI’s current situation, both the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should have learned a lesson. They have encountered similar challenges in the past, yet they seem unwilling to acknowledge this lesson. Their refusal to learn from history will cost them dearly.

Mohsin Dawar

The writer is a former Pakistani parliamentarian and chair of the National Democratic Movement.

The post Banning PTM Sends a Dangerous Message to the Youth appeared first on Dissent Today.

Former Lawmaker Mohsin Dawar’s Car Attacked By Gunmen During Election Campaign

News Desk — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 09:18:08 +0000

Former MNA and National Democratic Movement (NDM) Chairman Mohsin Dawar’s vehicle was attacked by unknown gunmen while he was campaigning for the upcoming elections in the Tappi area of North Waziristan. Dawar and his colleagues remained unharmed as the car was bulletproof.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the NDM condemned the attack and noted that terrorism is on the rise in Waziristan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

“How will level playing field be provided to Chairman Mohsin Dawar in such a dangerous environment? We demand an immediate investigation into this attack. The local administration has to make security arrangements for the candidates. We demand the Election Commissioner to immediately call an emergency meeting regarding the security of candidates in Pakhtunkhwa,” the statement added.

Politicians and NDM members echoed the concerns expressed in the statement and sought an inquiry into the incident.

NDM leader Bushra Gohar said on X: “Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack on #NDM‘s central Chairperson #MohsinDawar‘s election campaign in #Tappi #NorthWaziristan. Demand an immediate inquiry.

@ECP_Pakistan must take notice of the security threats to candidates in #Pakhtunkhwa. Where is @KPChiefMinister”

Former Senator Afrasiab Khattak termed the attack an instance of political engineering. “It is part of pol engineering by the deep state. In the last 3 elections {2008, 2013 and 2018}, Pashtun nationalists have come under terror attack,” he posted on X.

News Desk

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Reports Of Attack On MNA Mohsin Dawar Termed False

News Desk — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 11:41:39 +0000

Reports claiming that Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar and his colleagues faced an assassination attempt on their way to Peshawar from Islamabad have been doing the rounds on social media, but the lawmaker’s colleagues have declared them false.

A fake screenshot of journalist Saleem Safi’s tweet is being circulated on social media, saying that Moshin Dawar, National Democratic Movement’s founder, and his colleagues faced an assassination attempt when they were on their way to Peshawar from Islamabad.

However, Khushal Khan Khattak, who is also a member of the NDM, rubbished the report, saying that the lawmaker is safe.

“Please verify before sharing further. There was no attack,” he added.

There are fake screenshots of fake reports circulating about an attack on @mjdawar. He is safe and is alright. Please verify before sharing further. There was no attack. pic.twitter.com/240siIL7nl

— Khushal Khan (@Khushal_Khattak) April 20, 2023

This is a fake screenshot. Someone took the time to make this fake screenshot of @SaleemKhanSafi to spread this fake news. Beyond shameful.

— Khushal Khan (@Khushal_Khattak) April 20, 2023

Earlier, the Defence Ministry submitted a report to the Supreme Court, fearing all the worst-case scenarios if general elections are held on May 14 in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies, including an all-out war with India, threats from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and IS fighters returning to Pakistan from several countries.

The report also claimed that several threats have been received against senior leaders of political parties, while warning of possible clashes between supporters of political parties.

News Desk

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MNA Mohsin Dawar’s Amendment to SC Suo Motu Bill Will Give Former PMs Nawaz, Gilani Right To Appeal

News Desk — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 08:08:21 +0000

North Waziristan Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar’s amendment to the unanimously-passed National Assembly bill limiting the chief justice of Pakistan’s power to take a suo motu notice will provide the right to appeal to those convicted under such cases, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Yusuf Raza Gilani.

While presenting the amendment, Dawar said this would give the affectees of Karachi’s Nasla Tower the right to appeal.

On suo motu notice taken under Article 184 (3) of the constitution in 2021, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of the Nasla Tower situated on the main Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi with at least 43 apartments that were occupied by residents who were living there for several years.

If the bill is passed today by Senate and approved by the president, it will also pave the way for many political leaders to contest verdicts in the cases against them under Article 184 (3) of the constitution. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified under Article 62(F) of the Constitution in 2017, former prime minister belonging to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Yusuf Raza Gilani, estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jehangir Khan Tareen could file an appeal against their disqualification verdicts “within 30 days of the commencement of this Act”.

The NA passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, that limits the discretionary powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice under Article 184(3) of the Constitution yesterday.

PML-N MNA Bashir Mehmood Virk presented the bill while North Waziristan MNA Mohsin Dawar presented the amendment to the bill.

Social media users lauded the bill.

Legal analyst Reema Omer said the changes proposed by the bill are “particularly significant”.

She also dismissed the claims that the bill is an “attack on the independence of the judiciary”.

Please read the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 for yourself and see if it really is an assault on judicial independence as some people are claiming?

Three changes proposed by the bill are particularly significant: pic.twitter.com/p4F6dcpOKZ

— Reema Omer (@reema_omer) March 29, 2023

Reema Omer elaborated on the three important aspects of the bill.

She said according to the bill a committee comprising the CJP and two senior-most judges of the SC will constitute benches to hear all matters before the Supreme Court and the committee will make decisions by majority.

The same committee will also decide whether SC should exercise its original jurisdiction under Art 184(3) and such cases will be heard by a bench comprising a minimum of three judges.

Currently, the CJP alone has discretionary powers over all such matters.

“Currently, there is no right to appeal such SC judgments – there is only an option to apply for a review on limited and narrow grounds before the same bench. The bill proposes an appeal before a larger bench of the SC than the bench that originally decided the case,” she added.

Another social media user said that all bars have been demanding these much-needed amendments for at least a decade now.

These are excellent and much needed amendments and something all bars have been demanding for at least a decade. Everyone should stand behind them. https://t.co/zfJjItEyL1

— Salahuddin Ahmed (@SalAhmedPK) March 28, 2023

News Desk

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Why Is Pakistan Ignoring Anti-Taliban Uprising In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Asks Bushra Gohar

Fariha Ijaz — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 06:32:43 +0000

Amid a rise in banned terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a delegation of National Democratic Movement (NDM) comprising its Chairman Mohsin Dawar and former MNA Bushra Gohar visited North Waziristan and interacted with locals who have been protesting the resurgence of terrorism. Last month, TTP had ended the indefinite ceasefire that was previously agreed with the government in June, asking its fighters to carry out attacks across the country. Following the announcement, terror attacks in the country targeting security forces have intensified.

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.

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