Islamabad once again stands exposed for its brutal suppression of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), as Pak security forces launched yet another crackdown on peaceful activists. In a brazen display of Army terrorism, Bannu police raided the residence of PTM activist Hanif Pashteen early this morning, arresting his father and brutally torturing his brother, Hidayatullah.
The sheer desperation of the Paki establishment is evident—it has now resorted to abducting and brutalizing family members of those who dare to speak out. Arresting the elderly and inflicting violence on innocent civilians underscores the colonial mindset with which the Paki establishment views Pashtuns—an indigenous people who have suffered decades of Army oppression, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.
This is not law enforcement; this is terrorism by the occupying state against its own citizens. The PTM, which has been at the forefront of demanding justice for thousands of disappeared Pashtuns, has long been subjected to harassment by the Punjabi Pak Army-government. With its calls for accountability over enforced disappearances and military excesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTM has become a prime target of the establishment.