Waqar Ahmed
MOHSIN Dawar and Ali Wazir along with other PTM stooges are again trying to blame the murder of Mashal Khan on so-called indoctrination of locals by Pakistani security agencies. Just to recall Mashal Khan was a Pashtun and Muslim student at the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, who was killed by an angry mob in the premises of university on 13 April 2017, over allegations of posting blasphemous content online. Following which, a joint investigation team formed to probe the case found that Mashal hadn’t committed blasphemy.
Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) playing in the hands of Indian secret agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), is no secret now. The group has ended up as a tool in the hands of the enemies of Pakistan to spread chaos and stoke hatred against state institutions in the country. These days, the PTM – founded by Manzoor Pashteen and supported by MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir – exactly follows the same agenda as was followed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): wreaking havoc and undermining Pakistan’s armed forces – especially their efforts in war against terrorism – through unfounded anti-state propaganda.
The real intent of PTM has once again stood exposed as they have baselessly blamed Pakistan’s armed forces/security agencies for murder of Mashal Khan. As a matter of fact, the PTM spares no opportunity to try to undermine Pakistan’s national institutions. Very recently, the so-called Pashtun rights group was found involved in not only misleading the public about the threat posed by Coronavirus pandemic but also undermining government’s coordinated efforts to contain the deadly virus in the country.
The recent invitation to PTM MNAs to the oath taking ceremony of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the special protocol given to them by the Afghan Army also raised many eyebrows on their dubious character. In an intriguing move, Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir were taken by an Afghan National Army helicopter from Pak-Afghan border crossing to Kabul to attend the oath taking ceremony, giving credence to the reports of a nexus between the group and elements in the Afghan government. In his tweet, Dawar had himself admitted that Ghani’s oath-taking ceremony was held up due to a delay in their arrival to the presidential palace. Before reaching Kabul, both PTM leaders had also briefly visited ‘officials’ in eastern Nangarhar province. They had also held a meeting with former chief of NDS Amrullah Saleh, who is famous for his anti-Pakistan stance.
A careful look at the activities of the PTM leaders makes it apparent that Dawar has been assigned the responsibility of addressing the foreign front and he has been continuously trying to instigate the Pashtun diaspora, while Wazir is holding Afghan front and is in continuous touch with PTM’s Afghan supporters.
The insurgency in Balochistan has also been considered to have its links with NDS, which also enjoys covert support from RAW. It is believed that these hostile agencies have been supporting the Baloch sub-nationalist groups as part of their agenda to sabotage China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Pakistan’s armed forces are very much vigilant and aware of the agenda of these anti-Pakistan forces. RAW and NDS are trying gimmicks and tricks in their losing battle and the revival of the PTM bogey is a last-ditch effort by them. However, despite all this foreign funding and international support, the PTM has not been able to bluff the people of erstwhile FATA or Pashtuns residing in KP and Balochistan. And, the end is not too far.
However, things have started to change now. With each passing day, a narrative is getting stronger in Waziristan that the PTM has ‘used’ the Pashtun people for their vested interests and that the group never intended to fight for the rights of the Pashtuns. In several video clips recently went viral on social media, angry Pashtuns can be heard hurling abuses at Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir over what they called their ‘anti-state activities’ and ‘using’ Pashtun people for their personal agenda.
“We thought you [PTM] have come out for rights of Pashtun people … but you are in fact an agent of NDS. You have sold your own Pashtuns at the hands of Afghans,” an angry protester is heard saying in one of such video clips. While burning PTM caps, the Pashtuns can also be heard in the videos demanding that the government register treason cases against Dawar and Wazir and put them behind bars.
—The writer is freelance columnist.
