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.

In 2022, Shireen Mazari, the then human rights minister, claimed that the bill had gone missing after being sent to the Senate following approval by the relevant standing committee and the National Assembly.

Subsequently, Mazari also made the claim that she was summoned to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) headquarters regarding the bill. She further mentioned that after the bill was presented in the National Assembly (NA), it was referred to the interior committee where unidentified individuals attempted to alter its clauses. She expressed disappointment that the bill went missing en route to the Senate.

The matter of the bill being “missing” came up in the Supreme Court on January 2 during a hearing on enforced disappearances. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa expressed his astonishment at the bill’s disappearance from the Senate. He noted that this incident took place when the PTI was in power, saying that a serious allegation had been made against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

In a statement released on Monday, the Senate Secretariat referred to the Supreme Court hearing on January 2 and acknowledged that a bill, originating from the National Assembly, appeared to have vanished during transmission to the Senate.

The statement denied the allegations that the Senate chairman hindered the federal minister’s attempt to have the bill passed. “Still, a false impression was created in the media that the bill actually went missing and Senate chairman or Senate Secretariat had a role in it,” it noted.

The issue of the criminalization of enforced disappearance was put on the backburner after the bill disappeared during the PTI government. Recently, caretaker Prime Minister Anwar Kakar attempted to justify the practice. He criticized those who are extending support to the ongoing Baloch sit-in in Islamabad against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

News Desk

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Pakistan today faces an unprecedented crisis. Never before has it faced such serious challenges – with the country so deeply divided and in a fractured state. In fact, it confronts a polycrisis – several crises that have converged to reinforce each other and create an overall challenge tougher to deal with than any single crisis. A political crisis, with constitutional implications rages, the economic crisis is the worst in the country’s history, while a resurgence of terrorist violence has revived threats to Pakistan’s security.

The complex nature of the country’s overlapping and interconnected challenges and the fact that no single party can tackle these on its own should make political leaders and other stakeholders rise above narrow interests and consider evolving agreement on core issues, even as they continue to compete with each other.

Here are some core issues that need to be addressed immediately.

Economic revival and growth

First and foremost, Pakistan needs economic recovery and a plan to achieve this. While the present focus is on reviving the IMF loan programme, it should be a part, not substitute for a broader homegrown economic strategy. Stabilisation measures are necessary but not sufficient. Pakistan needs a path to growth and investment and a strategy to fix structural problems to end the vicious cycle of high budget/balance of payments deficits and chronic foreign exchange crises that have led to repeated IMF bailouts – a grand total of 23 now.

Unless underlying structural issues are tackled, the country will not be able to escape the trap of slow growth, low savings and investment, high deficits, heavy borrowing, growing indebtedness and soaring inflation. A band-aid approach is unsustainable. Consensus on longer term, structural measures is needed.
The narrow tax base, reflected in a low and almost stagnant tax to GDP ratio, is the source of fiscal problems, which is why serious tax reform needs to be a priority. This should aim at an equitable, simple and nationally enforced regime to give the country a single tax system. Ending exemptions, simplifying the convoluted sales tax structure, and ensuring tax compliance should be part of reform actions. Pakistan also needs to square the circle between over-taxation and under-collection.

The energy crisis is taking a heavy toll on the economy and testing people’s patience. That gives power sector reform urgency. Similarly, agreement is essential on privatising loss-making, state-owned enterprises that bloat budget deficits. A single, liberal business regulatory framework for the country and commitments for policy continuity are crucial to build and sustain investor confidence. The State Bank’s operational autonomy with the market deciding the exchange rate should also be agreed.

Unless there is an economic vision that puts in place a plan to grow and diversify exports, increase productivity, enhance competitiveness, boost savings and investment and integrate the country’s economy into the global economy, Pakistan will not be able to find a sustainable path to economic growth and prosperity.

Consensual democracy. Political stability, on which economic revival depends, requires consensus between all stakeholders, not just on continuance of democracy but its functioning by tolerance, mutual accommodation and consensus. Democracy cannot be limited to the ballot box. It should determine how the country is governed between elections. The federal nature of the polity makes this imperative – as does the regionalisation of politics and electoral outcomes that leaves different provinces in the hands of political parties different from the one leading the federal government. The federal government has to work with and not against opposition-run provinces to build inter-provincial consensus on major issues. While the central government can enact laws and take reform measures, their enforcement requires the consent of all provinces.

The role of the military is another core area that needs agreement. We have a firm popular consensus in place: that elected representatives should be in charge of governance. This indicates the delegitimisation of military intervention in politics and governance in public eyes. But political leaders must also embrace this consensus and not try to drag the army into politics to fight their battles. The military too should respect the principle of civilian supremacy even though on security policy it will continue to have a significant voice. This civil-military rebalancing of power will help to promote political stability.

Education

No issue is more consequential to a secure and prosperous Pakistan than the coverage and quality of education available to our children. Yet the facts remain grim. Pakistan has the world’s second highest number of children out of school, 22.8 million. 12 million are girls. It means 44 % of children aged 5 to 16 years do not go to school. This violates the constitutional obligation set out in Article 25A that enjoins the state to “provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years”. Of those who go to school, drop-out rates are high. All this is the result of decades of neglect and chronic under spending on education by successive governments. At 2.6 percent of GDP, this is among the lowest in South Asia.

Political leaders should stop trying to drag the army into politics to fight their battles. The military, too, should respect the principle of civilian supremacy even though on security policy it will continue to have a significant voice.

Given Pakistan’s demographic profile, young people face a jobless and hopeless future unless the scale and quality of education is expanded. This should spur the country’s leaders into treating education as a national emergency. Pakistan needs champions of reform not champions of vacuous rhetoric on education.

Population planning

Pakistan’s population of over 224 million makes it the world’s fifth most populous nation. In 2040, the population is projected to reach 302 million. The annual growth rate of around 2 % is among the highest in the region. This has far-reaching economic and social consequences. Yet this pivotal issue rarely figures in any government’s priorities.

The demographic structure, with youth constituting 64% of the population under 30, means almost 4 million young people join the working age population every year. This in turn requires 1.4 million new jobs to be created annually, according to a UNDP report. The confluence of demographics, economic stagnation and persisting education and gender gaps confronts Pakistan with the specter of social instability, even social breakdown in the decades ahead if consensus is not forged on population control measures.

These fundamental issues among other critical ones, including water scarcity and climate change, will determine Pakistan’s fate and fortunes. They require implementable plans undergird by a solid political and public consensus. Otherwise, Pakistan will continue to lurch from crisis to crisis without the means to get rid of the political and economic mess that it is perpetually trapped in.

Maleeha Lodhi

The writer is an academic and a diplomat. She served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, High Commissioner to the UK and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

The post Needed: National Consensus On These 4 Core Issues appeared first on Dissent Today.