Pakistan counters criticism of crackdown on ethnic rights group

Islamabad — 

Pakistan has justified its determination to outlaw a determination taste rights movement, citing alleged incitement of unit against the authorities and attempts to found a “parallel judicial system” nether the guise of peaceful nationalist gatherings.

The group, known arsenic the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), has openly criticized the almighty Pakistani subject and chiefly gets enactment from residents of the militancy-hit northwestern tribal districts bordering Afghanistan.

On Sunday, the authorities listed the PTM arsenic a proscribed organization, saying it was engaged successful activities “prejudicial to the bid and information of the country.” The prohibition drew backlash from section and planetary quality rights groups.

Wednesday, Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told a televised quality league successful Islamabad that PTM leaders were utilizing “abusive language” against information institutions astatine their rallies and promoting “racial discrimination” successful Pakistan.

The prohibition nether the country’s anti-terrorism instrumentality allowed authorities to seal PTM offices, assets and slope accounts; prehend literature; and prohibit nationalist advocacy specified arsenic media statements oregon speeches.

Naqvi spoke hours aft hundreds of enraged PTM supporters clashed with constabulary adjacent Peshawar, the superior of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borderline province, resulting successful the deaths of astatine slightest 3 activists.

The unit took spot successful an country wherever the PTM had planned to clasp a three-day nationalist gathering Friday, called a "Pashtun National Jirga [assembly] Court.” It was intended to protestation the civilian casualties and determination losses of spot and commerce owed to the accrued Islamist militancy and service operations to antagonistic the threat.

"We cannot let anyone to acceptable up a parallel judicial strategy successful the country,” the curate said. "You are allowed to prosecute successful discussions astir authorities and rights, but you are not allowed to promote radical to revolt against nationalist institutions oregon to provoke them to instrumentality up arms against these institutions,” Naqvi stated.

The autarkic Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, oregon HRCP, denounced the prohibition connected the PTM arsenic “neither transparent nor warranted” and criticized the consequent usage of unit by constabulary against the group’s members.

“We reason immoderate usage of unwarranted and unlawful unit against those protesters who are unarmed. The authorities has already taken disproportionate measures by proscribing the PTM and attempting to forestall it from holding this assembly," the watchdog said.

The HRCP noted that a provincial precocious tribunal ruling had protected PTM supporters’ “right to assemble peacefully.”

Amnesty International has besides demanded Pakistan instantly revoke the prohibition connected the PTM.

“The listing of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement arsenic a proscribed organization, days up of their gathering scheduled connected 11 October, is portion of a systematic and relentless clampdown by the Pakistani authorities connected peaceful protests and assemblies by dissenting groups,” the planetary rights defender said successful a Tuesday statement.

“This latest arbitrary prohibition nether overbroad powers of the panic instrumentality is lone the extremity of the iceberg — for years, the Pakistani authorities person suppressed specified movements from marginalized regions by resorting to unlawful usage of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans connected the sum of protests oregon rallies,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s lawman determination manager for South Asia.

Pakistan has experienced a surge successful violent attacks claimed by oregon blamed connected Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan, oregon TTP, which is listed arsenic a violent radical by the United Nations.

An confederation of banned Pakistani groups, TTP is commonly known arsenic the Pakistani Taliban, and its fighters are chiefly progressive successful borderline districts, allegedly conducting cross-border attacks from sanctuaries successful Afghanistan with the enactment of the Taliban authorities there.