Published: 07:20 AM, 09 December 2023
Activist critical of Pakistan army allegedly 'abducted'
A prominent rights activist has been allegedly abducted by Pakistan's intelligence agencies a day after he was arrested for addressing a protest to demand free cross-border movement with neighbouring Afghanistan.
Manzoor Pashteen, founder of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (Pashtun Protection Movement or PTM) rights group, was on his way to Turbat town from the border town of Chaman in Balochistan province when he was arrested by police on Monday afternoon, Al Jazeera reports.
The 29-year-old activist was arrested for allegedly firing on police vehicles, a charge the PTM denies.
The 29-year-old activist was arrested for allegedly firing on police vehicles, a charge the PTM denies.
Zubair Shah, a senior PTM member, said Pashteen was brought to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday morning, from where he was allegedly abducted by officials belonging to Pakistan's intelligence agencies, controlled by the military.
"After his arrest yesterday, he was taken northwards to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This morning he was brought to a police station in Dera Ismail Khan city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from where he was taken away by unknown men," Shah told Al Jazeera from Dera Ismail Khan.
"We don't know where he is any more. Nobody is giving us any police report to show why was he arrested and now he has been picked up by men in civilian clothing, who we believe are part of Pakistan's intelligence agencies."
"We don't know where he is any more. Nobody is giving us any police report to show why was he arrested and now he has been picked up by men in civilian clothing, who we believe are part of Pakistan's intelligence agencies."
Khubab Khan, a police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, denied the PTM leader was brought to his station.
"There were some PTM members who came earlier on Tuesday morning who demanded that we produce their leader, alleging we have kept him but that is not the case. We never received anybody, nor anybody was taken away from here," he told Al Jazeera.
"There were some PTM members who came earlier on Tuesday morning who demanded that we produce their leader, alleging we have kept him but that is not the case. We never received anybody, nor anybody was taken away from here," he told Al Jazeera.
PTM, founded in 2014, advocates for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns affected by Pakistan's war against the Taliban and its local affiliate, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The group is known for its strident criticism of Pakistan's powerful military for its role in alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of rights activists and ethnic leaders.
Many Pashtun leaders, including Pashteen, have been arrested in the past on accusations of inciting anti-state sentiments, treason and terrorism.
Pashteen was in Chaman to attend a large demonstration demanding the reversal of a government policy which makes it mandatory for Afghan nationals to carry a Pakistani visa to enter the country. The policy came on the back of Pakistan declaring nearly 1.7 million refugees and migrants in the country "illegal" and ordering their immediate expulsion.
Many Pashtun leaders, including Pashteen, have been arrested in the past on accusations of inciting anti-state sentiments, treason and terrorism.
Pashteen was in Chaman to attend a large demonstration demanding the reversal of a government policy which makes it mandatory for Afghan nationals to carry a Pakistani visa to enter the country. The policy came on the back of Pakistan declaring nearly 1.7 million refugees and migrants in the country "illegal" and ordering their immediate expulsion.
