PTM- A bulwark against Talibam
Prof. Suresh Chander
The story of Ali Wazir, a Pashtun Tahafaz Movement (PTM) leader, is a member of National Assembly of Pakistan (NA-50 (Tribal Area – XI)) has lessons for leftists and public at large in the sub-continent. He is also a central committee member of The Struggle, a Pakistani Marxist organization.
He defeated his closest rival from a religious party alliance, MMA by a margin of 16015 votes in 2018.
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), or the Pashtun Protection Movement, is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Formerly called the Mahsud Tahafuz (or Protection) Movement, it was founded in May 2014 by eight students at Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan as an initiative for removing landmines from Waziristan and other parts of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, affected by the war in North-West Pakistan.
Presently, PTM is headed by Manzoor Pashteen. Other prominent leaders are Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar.
Ali Wazir’s hometown, Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan agency, became the epicenter of global terrorism when a host of Taliban-allied groups sought shelter in the communities. The presence of terrorist groups was objected to by his father, the chief of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, and other local leaders. Instead government officials ignored and silenced them. Islamabad spent years denying the presence of any Afghan, Arab, or Central Asian militants.
By 2003, the militants had established a foothold in South and North Waziristan tribal agencies and were attempting to build a local Emirate. Ali Wazir’s elder brother Farooq Wazir, became the first victim of a long campaign in which thousands of Pashtun tribal leaders, activists, politicians, and clerics were killed with near absolute impunity. Their only crime was to question or oppose the presence of dangerous terrorists in their homeland.
Ali Wazir was arrested under the draconian colonial-era Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) law that holds an entire tribe or region responsible for the crimes of an individual or any alleged crime committed in the territory. Ali Wazir was still in prison when his father, brothers, cousins, and an uncle were killed in a single ambush in 2005.
Ali Wazir and his family were economically ruined after all of the notable men in his family were eliminated. The militants demolished his family owned gas stations. His family owned apple and peach orchards in Wana were sprayed with poisonous chemicals, and tube wells were filled with dirt to force them to surrender to the forces of darkness. In 2016, his family owned market in Wana was dynamited
The government prevented the local community, mostly members of Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, from collecting donations to help them. They were told that jit would set an unacceptable precedent because the government cannot let anyone help those it punishes.
Total of 16 members of his family, including his father, two brothers were killed by the Taliban during that period.
In an interview during April 2018, Ali Wazir said: “The past few months have transformed my life. Amid the agonies I have endured and the threats, suspicion, and accusations I face, the love, support, and respect I receive is overwhelming. Since February, when we began protesting to draw attention to the suffering of ethnic Pashtuns — among the worst victims of terrorism — I have learned a lot about the potential of ordinary Pakistanis. Their thirst for change is inspiring and heralds a peaceful, prosperous future we must build for generations to come”.
He contested parliamentary elections in 2008 and 2013 too.
In the 2013 general elections, his victory was changed into a defeat at gunpoint. He lost the election by just 300 votes after the Taliban intimidated voters and tortured his supporters and campaign volunteers.
Amidst violence, thousands of civilians have disappeared, and thousands have fallen victim to extrajudicial killings. The leaders of PTM face humiliation at security check posts, and innocent civilians face violence during security sweeps and operations. As the world’s largest tribal society, the Pashtuns are known for their hospitality, commitment, and valour, and are falsely reduced to terrorist sympathizers despite the fact that they are their worst victims.
The story of Ali Wazir is important in Indian context and particularly for secular leftist forces in India. There are no two opinions that secular left is supporting the fears of the Muslim community, these fears real or imagined have to be addressed, in the valley and now anti CAA movement. Anti CAA movement is fast radicalising the youth, particularly the women. The concerns of the secular left may be genuine – that’s not the point of debate. But it may lead to sheltering of Taliban-allied groups amongst these radicalised groups. The radicalised persons may be in microscopic numbers in a particular group. These sit-ins have given them an opportunity to network. But there are no likes of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe to take these terrorist groups head on. In such an eventuality, the state will have difficulty dealing with such a situation.
This is not an attempt to unnecessarily paint a grim scenario but only points to a worst case scenario like in war games. Any attempt by rabble-rousers will be counterproductive and should be curbed by the state with an iron hand.
Every community has its own psychology and behaviour pattern. Certain communities react and even resist by arms and others accept it as a fait accompli or as a will of god. In this context, it is necessary to point out that Kashmir Valley Muslims by and large did not give shelter to Taliban like groups with some exceptions here and there in spite of the fact it would have given them short term gains. They are intelligent and pragmatic people and are aware of the consequences of aligning with extremists.
These are dangerous times, our actions today will decide the course our country is going to take – there will be no Modis or Rahuls at that time to blame. It may lead to a fire fighting situation. Let us avoid it.
(The author is former Head of Computer Engineering Department in G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology)
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