Kailash Kumar
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Government, PTM moving toward 'short-term arrangement,' experts say
AAMIR SAEED
July 11, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Two lawmakers from the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) are going to approach the Peshawar High Court next week to have a criminal case against them quashed, following recent moves by the government which experts say indicate attempts at a “short-term arrangement” to end confrontation with PTM.
Last month, Defense Minister Pervaiz Khattak invited PTM to discuss “all the contentious issues” for the sake of the development of Pashtun-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.A few weeks earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration requested an antiterrorism court to withdraw the case it filed against PTM leaders Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir in May last year.
“The government has the authority to withdraw the case, after which the accused will be considered exonerated in the case,” Abdul Latif Afridi, senior lawyer representing the two members of the National Assembly, told Arab News on Saturday.
Afridi confirmed that the provincial government requested the case withdrawal in March, but the antiterrorism court in Abbottabad had yet to decide on it. In the case, Dawar and Wazir were accused of an attack at a military checkpoint at Kharqamar in North Waziristan, in which at least 13 people were killed and multiple injured.
“This is like a hanging sword to my clients … I’ve discussed the development with my clients, and we’ll be moving Peshawar High Court next week to get this case quashed,” he said, adding that the court was legally bound to exonerate his clients after the government’s application.
The PTM emerged as a rights movement for the country’s Pashtun population in February 2018. Its leaders and supporters have faced numerous police reports and court cases for allegedly inciting people against the state institutions including the armed forces.
Political analysts are of the view that the recent developments indicate that the government and PTM leaders are moving toward a “short-term arrangement” to put an end to confrontation and address concerns of Pashtuns.
“The PTM is a genuine political movement led and supported by the youth, therefore it can’t be suppressed through state force or violence,” Qamar Cheema, political and security analyst, told Arab News.
He said that Pashtun nationalism had always been a problem for the state for its unique geographical location and closeness with the troubled Afghanistan.
“The PTM should focus on getting genuine grievances of the Pashtuns addressed by shunning confrontation with the state,” he said, “The group could emerge as a political force in the region, provided it broadens its canvass.”
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1703301/pakistan
AAMIR SAEED
July 11, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Two lawmakers from the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) are going to approach the Peshawar High Court next week to have a criminal case against them quashed, following recent moves by the government which experts say indicate attempts at a “short-term arrangement” to end confrontation with PTM.
Last month, Defense Minister Pervaiz Khattak invited PTM to discuss “all the contentious issues” for the sake of the development of Pashtun-dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.A few weeks earlier, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration requested an antiterrorism court to withdraw the case it filed against PTM leaders Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir in May last year.
“The government has the authority to withdraw the case, after which the accused will be considered exonerated in the case,” Abdul Latif Afridi, senior lawyer representing the two members of the National Assembly, told Arab News on Saturday.
Afridi confirmed that the provincial government requested the case withdrawal in March, but the antiterrorism court in Abbottabad had yet to decide on it. In the case, Dawar and Wazir were accused of an attack at a military checkpoint at Kharqamar in North Waziristan, in which at least 13 people were killed and multiple injured.
“This is like a hanging sword to my clients … I’ve discussed the development with my clients, and we’ll be moving Peshawar High Court next week to get this case quashed,” he said, adding that the court was legally bound to exonerate his clients after the government’s application.
The PTM emerged as a rights movement for the country’s Pashtun population in February 2018. Its leaders and supporters have faced numerous police reports and court cases for allegedly inciting people against the state institutions including the armed forces.
Political analysts are of the view that the recent developments indicate that the government and PTM leaders are moving toward a “short-term arrangement” to put an end to confrontation and address concerns of Pashtuns.
“The PTM is a genuine political movement led and supported by the youth, therefore it can’t be suppressed through state force or violence,” Qamar Cheema, political and security analyst, told Arab News.
He said that Pashtun nationalism had always been a problem for the state for its unique geographical location and closeness with the troubled Afghanistan.
“The PTM should focus on getting genuine grievances of the Pashtuns addressed by shunning confrontation with the state,” he said, “The group could emerge as a political force in the region, provided it broadens its canvass.”
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1703301/pakistan
