The nonviolent Indigenous movement in Pakistan facing renewed threats from the Taliban

The Pashtun Tahafuz (‘protection’) Movement is a nonviolent movement in Pakistan representing ethnic Pashtuns on the border with Afghanistan. Members of the PTM have spoken to SBS Dateline about what they describe as persecution at the hands of Pakistan’s government. They say with the recent Taliban victory in Afghanistan, the Indigenous movement is now facing danger on two fronts.

Members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Pakistan

Members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in Pakistan Source: Supplied

Kashef Khan grew up in Pakistan’s tribal areas during a time of relative peace. Now it’s a region scarred by decades of war.

He was born in the district of North Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, after the USSR’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989. Kashef, now 28, describes his childhood as being quite normal, growing up like generations of Indigenous Pashtuns before him.

Ethnic Pashtuns make up roughly 15 per cent of Pakistan’s population of about 238 million, with many also living across the border in Afghanistan. The fiercely independent tribal group is traditionally governed by Pashtunwali, an unwritten customary law passed down by respected elders for centuries.
The Durand Line forms the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and splits traditional Pashtun land between the two countries
The Durand Line forms the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and splits traditional Pashtun land between the two countries Source: SBS News
But Kashef says his life changed when the United States invaded Afghanistan after 9/11.

He says the US attack created a huge influx of refugees across the border.

“We lived in the borderland, so we would hear the bombardment and the noise. I was in grade two or three around that time,” he tells SBS Dateline.

After the Taliban government was toppled in 2001, Kashef says many fighters took refuge in his area. He says they share the same ethnicity, so it was easy for them to cross the border and integrate.

“The language is the same, the origin is the same, same bloodlines and everything. It makes sense that it was so easy,” he says.

But Kashef says the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam was at odds with the customary laws administered by tribal elders.

“They became a dominant part of society. Around 1,500 elders were murdered. The Taliban were trying to become the authority.”

Kashef says everyone from his village was terrorised, regularly reminded of the consequences of speaking out.
Kashef Khan grew up in the early 90s in North Waziristan
Kashef Khan grew up in the early 90s in North Waziristan Source: Supplied
“We would always see mutilated bodies on our way to school. They were usually the elders of certain tribes.”

At this point he apologises for becoming agitated, seeming to recognise his anger building.

“For a small kid, this influences your mind,” he says. “It influenced a lot of us. Some of us were radicalised to join them and carry out suicide attacks.

Kashef was eventually accepted to study economics in the Pakistan capital Islamabad, while Pakistan’s military carried out a major offensive against the Taliban, aimed at pushing them out of the tribal areas. His parents became internally displaced people as a result of the violence.
Kashef (front, right) organised with friends from his university to deliver aid to the camps for internally displaced people
Kashef (front, right) organised with friends from his university to deliver aid to the camps for internally displaced people Source: Supplied
When it was safe to return at the end of 2017, Kashef and his family found his town in ruins.

“Everything was destroyed. Even my house. Everything was finished,” he says.

It was at this time that a movement founded by a group of students including a veterinary science student named Manzoor Pashteen was starting to gain traction.

“Things were changing. The way of thinking was changing,” Kashef says.
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen (centre) with Kashef Khan (right of Pashteen) and other PTM members
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen (centre) with Kashef Khan (right of Pashteen) and other PTM members Source: Supplied

Rise of the PTM

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement was born out of what Kashef describes as longstanding discrimination against Pashtuns in Pakistan, as a result of their different language and complexion. The movement gained a huge following in 2018, after the staged killing of aspiring model Naqeebullah Mehsud by a senior superintendent of police in Karachi.

Kashef says Pashtuns were the victims of the government’s military campaign against the Taliban.

“[The PTM] is totally nonviolent. We were demanding constitutional and human rights.”

The movement regularly holds 'jalsas' or public demonstrations and sit-ins across the country.
Supporters of Manzoor Pashteen, leader of the PTM, hold pictures of their missing relatives as they listen to his speech during a gathering in Swat.
Supporters of Manzoor Pashteen, leader of the PTM, hold pictures of their missing relatives as they listen to his speech during a gathering in Swat. Source: EPA
Bilquees Daud from the Centre for Afghanistan Studies at India’s Jindal Global University, agrees that the movement pursues a policy of nonviolence.

“The nonviolent legacy among Pashtuns started with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as the frontier Gandhi,” Ms Daud says. “His legacy has deliberately been removed from the history of Pashtuns.”

According to Ms Daud, the PTM has three main objectives: the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate extrajudicial killings; securing the release of missing people or information as to their whereabouts; and the removal of landmines from Pashtun tribal areas. Authorities claim to have cleared at least 48,000 landmines in the region.

Dr Ayesha Jehangir, from the UTS Centre for Media Transition, is a former war journalist from the region, and says the movement wants to “demilitarise the Pashtun youth.”

“War is embedded in Pashtun culture, not violence, I want to make that distinction clear,” Dr Jehangir tells SBS Dateline. “This culture of war goes back well past the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.”

“Pashtuns are an Indigenous ethnicity in Pakistan and one of the most underrepresented, oppressed and marginalised in terms of education, health and political representation,” Dr Jehangir says.

She says the PTM’s protests in favour of rights for Pashtuns have been wrongly labelled by the government as anti-state, terrorist activities.

“To date there has not been a single attack by the PTM, neither has any member of the PTM ever been involved in any terrorist activities,” she says.

Allegations of state persecution

As a result of these alleged terrorist activities, Dr Jehangir says Pakistani media outlets face huge challenges when reporting on the PTM.

“The reason the media is instructed not to cover the PTM is because it talks about the missing Pashtun people, it talks about the military operations in northern Pakistan.”

Batoor* is a former journalist who became supportive of the PTM. He also talks of the “establishment” warning media outlets not to report on PTM rallies.

“In 2020, there was a big PTM gathering in Swat, and there were no TV or newspaper reporters covering that. My friend tried to report it, but he received a penalty for covering the rally,” Batoor says.

He decided to leave journalism to pursue another profession, but he came under more pressure from the government for his links with the PTM.

He has received numerous desist letters from the authorities, which he says is common for members of the PTM.
Letters like this are commonly sent to members of the PTM
Letters like this are commonly sent to members of the PTM Source: Supplied
“When someone from the PTM speaks, they are speaking truths that the government doesn’t want to be made public. They say the government supports the Taliban in order to push the US back,” Batoor says.

SBS Dateline had organised an interview with PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen. However on Thursday, reports emerged of an attack on Mr Pashteen and the vehicle convoy he was travelling in. Regional PTM coordinator Noor Bachar, who was travelling with the group, is understood to have been shot, while Mr Pashteen escaped injury.

The Taliban’s return to power

While people like Batoor fear the government’s alleged censorship and oppression of the PTM, the Taliban’s victory and consolidation of power in Afghanistan is quickly becoming another major threat.

“PTM supporters are extremely worried about the Taliban coming back. They will kill all the PTM supporters first,” he says.

"You have to put everything aside. You must accept that they could kill you, they could behead you. If you can do all of these things, you can be part of the PTM. Otherwise it is too dangerous."

Dr Jehangir also sees the potential for conflict between the PTM and the Taliban in the borderland.

“The PTM is anti-war and pro-education. The Taliban is pro-war and anti-education. How can these two exist together?”

Talks are continuing in Norway between the Taliban and Western diplomats, with the issue of reported to be high on the agenda.

Bilquees Daud describes the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as the beginning of an “era of radicalisation” when fighters from around the Islamic world formed the mujahideen in opposition to the USSR-aligned government.
You have to put everything aside. You must accept that they could kill you, they could behead you. If you can do all of these things, you can be part of the PTM. Otherwise it is too dangerous. - Batoor
“The era of radicalisation really changed village life for Pashtuns,” Ms Daud says.

“Pashtunwali was banned and replaced by Sharia law. Pashtun women never wore the burqa. That was all changed by the mujahideen and the Taliban. The way the Taliban beat women in the streets was totally unimaginable in Pashtun society.”

Ms Daud has observed commentary linking the Taliban and Pashtun nationalism, which she says is incorrect.

“Pashtuns are not just the Taliban. They are also people like [PTM founder] Manzoor Pashteen,” she says.

For Kashef Khan, who is now studying his PhD in Australia, fear of the Taliban will not stop him from returning home.
Kashef is now completing his PhD in Sydney
Kashef is now completing his PhD at the University of Sydney Source: Supplied
“No one knows what will happen next, but one can’t just stop moving out of fear,” he says.

“My experience is living in these conditions all my life, so it won’t scare me. I’m hoping for the best.”

SBS Dateline sent a list of questions to the Pakistan High Commission in Canberra, but did not receive a response.

(*Name changed for security reasons)


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8 min read
Published 10 February 2022 8:30am
Updated 22 February 2022 6:24pm
By Tys Occhiuzzi


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