Al Mayadeen – October 10, 2024
On Al Mayadeen's cam: Israeli tank catches fire at frontlines
Hezbollah's fighters continue to operate from the frontlines, attacking an Israeli Merkava tank and troop formations.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah targeted an Israeli tank, on Thursday, as it advanced toward Ras al-Naqoura, using guided missiles.
Hezbollah's targeted strike on an Israeli tank near Ras al-Naqoura led to its destruction and resulted in casualties among the crew, including both deaths and injuries.
Al Mayadeen aired footage showing the Israeli vehicle burning following the Resistance's attacks. Our correspondent in South Lebanon reported that the Lebanese Resistance detected an Israeli occupation force attempting to infiltrate from Ras al-Naqoura into Mshayrfeh at the frontlines.
The Resistance proceeded to target it with rockets and appropriate weapons, resulting in direct hits, our correspondent said, adding that the Israeli force targeted by the Resistance was made up of close to 60 troops, five Merkava tanks, and additional vehicles.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that there were confirmed direct hits in occupation ranks as the three birds were made to retrieve Israeli casualties from the Ras al-Naqoura area, all of which failed under Resistance fire.
In this context, the director of Al Mayadeen's bureau I occupied Palestine confirmed that there is a significant media blackout in "Israel" regarding the current events at the border with Lebanon, resulting in a lack of coverage on the matter.
Hezbollah's operations on Thursday, so far
The Islamic Resistance launched a significant salvo of rockets at the settlement of Kiryat Shmona at 10:00 AM.
At the same time, the Islamic Resistance unleashed a missile salvo targeting a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers in the vicinity of the al-Marj site.
The Resistance fighters also targeted a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers in Beit Hillel with a rocket salvo in a third operation.
In yet another operation, Resistance fighters launched a rocket salvo at a gathering of occupation soldiers in Ma'ayan Baruch.
As the resistance launched its rockets, sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona and the surrounding areas. Israeli media reported intense shelling of the settlement, with dozens of explosions echoing through the region.
The Islamic Resistance announced that its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers in Kfar Giladi with a rocket barrage at 11:15 AM (local time) today.
Then, at 2:00 PM (local time), the Resistance targeted the same gathering of IOF troops in Kfar Giladi for the second time with another rocket barrage.
Channel 13 also confirmed that a building in Margaliot, located in the Upper al-Jalil, sustained a direct hit.
Israeli occupation forces have still been unable to infiltrate into South Lebanon, as the Resistance continues to target their troop formations and ambush them.
Al Mayadeen – October 10, 2024
Gaza Resistance ambushes Israeli forces in Jabalia, Khan Younis
The al-Qassam Brigades executes a sophisticated ambush against Israeli forces east of the Jabalia refugee camp, resulting in multiple casualties.
Shortly after the first anniversary of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, Palestinian Resistance forces in Gaza continue to confront Israeli forces entrenched across various battlefronts, particularly in Jabalia to the north, where the Israeli military launched a new incursion a couple of days ago, despite previous claims of having "eliminated" the Resistance in the area.
The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, executed a sophisticated ambush against Israeli forces east of Jabalia refugee camp, resulting in multiple Israeli casualties.
The Brigades managed to entrap a mechanized infantry unit consisting of 12 military vehicles and a truck loaded with soldiers in the ambush. As soon as the convoy reached the ambush point, the Brigades targeted a soldier-laden truck with a "Shawaz" explosive device and a Hummer vehicle with a thunder explosive, while hitting another jeep with a Tandem rocket.
Following the initial strikes, al-Qassam fighters advanced toward the ambush area and eliminated the remaining soldiers at close range using light weapons. Additionally, they targeted a group of soldiers who fled toward a nearby house with an anti-personnel explosive.
As part of the same ambush, the Brigades also targeted two Israeli Merkava tanks with a Tandem rocket and a "Shawaz" explosive after they arrived with a reinforcement unit.
In a separate operation east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the al-Qassam Brigades struck an Israeli reconnaissance patrol of two vehicles and four soldiers using a kamikaze drone.
Meanwhile, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades shelled Israeli military vehicles stationed east of Jabalia camp with heavy-caliber mortar shells.
In parallel, the al-Mujahideen Brigades released footage documenting their targeting of a group of Israeli soldiers with heavy-caliber mortars in Jabalia, achieving direct hits.
In coordination with other Resistance factions, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Omar al-Qassem Forces, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, targeted Israeli forces east of Jabalia refugee camp. The operations was carried out in retaliation for Israeli crimes and in defense of both the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.
Al Mayadeen – October 10, 2024
Hezbollah neither defeated nor broken, inflicting losses, casualties
Israeli media say 22 Israeli soldiers were injured in the past 24 hours, 20 of them on the Lebanese border and two in the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah has neither been defeated nor broken following the recent assassinations against its members, Israeli media indicated on Thursday, adding that the Lebanese group remains capable of dealing casualties and damage to "Israel."
This comes amid an ongoing Israeli aggression across Lebanon, especially the country's southern and eastern regions, as well as Beirut's Southern Suburb, which has so far killed 2,141 people and injured 10,099 others, according to the latest statistics from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah's fighters continue to inflict heavy losses and casualties on Israeli troops attempting to infiltrate Lebanese towns from occupied Palestinian territories since "Israel" announced a "limited ground incursion" over a week ago, despite Israeli officials claiming that the group's capabilities have been reduced during this round of confrontation.
The media noted that two Israelis were killed by rocket fire from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona.
Yoav Limor, a military affairs commentator for the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, mentioned that Hezbollah has intensified its rocket attacks toward "Israel" over the past few days.
He pointed out that despite the interception of some rockets from Lebanon, Israeli defense systems were unable to intercept all of them, resulting in serious damage to the Israeli "home front" and its military.
Limor suggested that "Israel" is not thinking "strategically" about Iranian threats, adding that the political-security cabinet, which will meet Thursday to decide on a response to Iran's Operation True Promise II and its timing, must avoid dragging "Israel" into a war of attrition, as "Israeli society and even the army are not prepared" for a such one.
The commentator further urged the Israeli government to reconsider its broad international relations, particularly with the United States, to transition from war to diplomacy, as well as to focus on rearmament.
He also emphasized that US support for "Israel" is also crucial in facing any potential Iranian response, which became evident after Operation True Promise I and II.
Limor noted that the intense fighting on the northern front with Lebanon and a potential Iranian attack are diverting attention from Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Israeli newspaper Maariv pointed out that evacuating the wounded in the northern arena is complicated, adding that the evacuation process involves transporting medical personnel and the injured to landing zones within "Israel".
20 Israeli soldiers injured within 24 hours on border with Lebanon
In a related context, Israeli media reported that 22 Israeli soldiers were injured in 24 hours, 20 of them on the Lebanese border and two in the Gaza Strip.
The Ziv Medical Center in occupied Safad confirmed that it had received seven injured soldiers from battles with Hezbollah at the northern border with Lebanon.
Israeli media mentioned that four injuries were reported following the shelling that targeted the Karmiel area in Central al-Jalil, while an Israeli helicopter was directly hit in the Mays al-Jabal area while attempting to evacuate injuries, forcing Israeli ambulances to flee the scene of the incident.
Early Thursday morning, the Israeli occupation military admitted to the killing of one of its soldiers and the injury of another in ongoing battles at the Lebanese border.
The military announced that the soldier was from the 228th Brigade and that another soldier from the 5030th Battalion was seriously wounded in the same incident and was transferred to the hospital.
This brings the Israeli military's acknowledged death toll to 12 soldiers since the start of its announced ground incursion in southern Lebanon, although the Islamic Resistance's Operations Room confirmed that the occupation forces have suffered at least 35 fatalities and 200 injuries, including elite officers and soldiers.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Channel 12 reported that the senior advisor to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was injured during battles at the Lebanon border.
The Israeli military also confirmed that two soldiers from Unit 504 and another from Battalion 8207 were seriously injured in the battle in southern Lebanon.
Israeli strike hits central area of Lebanon’s Beirut
Daily Sabah – October 10, 2024
Israeli strike on central Gaza school kills 28 displaced Palestinians
At least 28 Palestinians were killed on Thursday when an Israeli airstrike targeted a Gaza school sheltering displaced people.
The strike, in which many more were wounded, happened in the city of Deir al-Balah, where a million people have taken shelter after fleeing fighting elsewhere after more than a year of war.
The Israeli military, meanwhile, pushed its old rhetoric Thursday claiming it had carried out a precise strike on Palestinian resistance groups, who had a command and control center embedded in a school.
"This is a further example of the Hamas ... organization’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law," the military statement alleged.
Hamas denies such allegations. Medics said 54 other people were wounded at the school.
In the north of the enclave, the Israeli military is pushing on with an offensive begun six days ago, when it sent its troops into Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya.
Palestinian health officials say at least 130 people have been killed so far in the operation, which Israel says is aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping.
The military has told residents to evacuate an area in which the U.N. estimates more than 400,000 people are trapped.
The health officials said the Israeli military Wednesday gave patients and medics 24 hours to leave the Indonesian, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals or risk being stormed as happened earlier in the war at the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Israel, which has not yet commented on evacuation orders for medical facilities, has said Hamas has command facilities embedded in the hospitals, which it denies.
Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital said, eight patients, mostly children, were at risk inside the intensive care units should the army force them to evacuate.
"Those children were injured with shrapnel all over their bodies, the upper parts and the brain. They are all in critical conditions and are hooked to oxygen systems," Abu Safiya said in a video message to the media.
"The hospital is also running out of fuel, and the occupation is refusing fuel to reach northern Gaza," he added……
Anadolu Agency – October 10, 2024
60 more Israeli soldiers injured in clashes in Lebanon, Gaza
Some 731 soldiers killed, 4,700 others injured since outbreak of Gaza conflict last year, military figures show
At least 60 more Israeli soldiers were injured in clashes in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, the military said on Thursday.
Military figures released by the army showed that some 731 soldiers have so far been killed and 4,700 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.
Regional tensions have escalated due to Israel's brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 42,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.
The conflict spread to Lebanon with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,323 people and injured over 3,700 others since Sept. 23.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
Anadolu Agency – October 10, 2024
Russia warns escalating conflict in Middle East could have catastrophic consequences for region
'Unfortunately, the battleground is already expanding. The Lebanese front has now been added. All of this, naturally, leads to the destruction of civilian infrastructure,' says Kremlin spokesman
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Thursday that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could have catastrophic consequences for the entire region.
Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow, he highlighted the severe impact on civilians, saying "tens and hundreds of thousands" of people are suffering as a result of the ongoing violence.
"Unfortunately, the battleground is already expanding. The Lebanese front has now been added. All of this, naturally, leads to the destruction of civilian infrastructure. Tens and hundreds of thousands of people are losing their homes, livelihoods, and jobs," he said, referring to the relentless Israeli forcing bombardments of Lebanon and Gaza.
Regarding possible Moscow responses to further escalation, particularly concerning the Russian-operated Hmeimim Air Base in Syria, Peskov declined to speculate, saying "It is unlikely that any eventual reasoning is appropriate here."
Israel has mounted massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 1,323 people, injuring over 3,700 others, and displacing more than 1.2 million people.
The aerial campaign was an escalation in yearlong cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Tel Aviv's brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed over 42,000 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.
Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.
Yemen's Houthis target ship in Red Sea amid ongoing conflicts
Reports indicate that the Houthi group have targeted over 80 ships with missiles and drones.
A series of suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthis targeted a ship in the Red Sea, authorities said.
The attack comes as the group continues to threaten ships moving through the Red Sea, a waterway that once saw $1 trillion in goods move through it a year, over the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East stemming from Israel's war in Gaza.
A ship in the Red Sea skirting the coast of East Africa found itself struck first by a projectile that damaged the vessel, but sparked no fire and caused no injuries, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said.
At least two more projectiles later fell in the waters around the vessel, which was a distance away from Hodaida, the Houthi-controlled port from which many of the group's attacks have been launched.
The rebels did not immediately claim the attack.
However, it can take them hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.
In response for Gaza
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the Israeli war on Gaza started in October.
They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that has also killed four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a United States-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets, which have included Western military vessels as well.
The Houthis maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s brutal war on Palestinians.
However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
Authorities must immediately revoke ban on Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, Amnesty
The Pakistan government’s ban on the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and the use of anti-terrorism laws to target activists and peaceful protesters from minority groups is an affront on the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in the country, said Amnesty International today.
The PTM is a grassroots movement peacefully advocating for human rights of Pashtuns who have long been subjected to harassment and violence by the Pakistani authorities. On 6 October 2024, in a new government notification, the PTM was designated as a ‘proscribed organization’ by placing it under the First Schedule for ‘List of Proscribed Organizations’ of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
“The listing of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement as a proscribed organization, days ahead of their gathering scheduled on 11 October, is part of a systematic and relentless clampdown by the Pakistani authorities on peaceful protests and assemblies by dissenting groups. This latest arbitrary ban under over-broad powers of the terror law is only the tip of the iceberg – for years the Pakistani authorities have suppressed such movements from marginalized regions by resorting to unlawful use of force, enforced disappearances, and media bans on the coverage of protests or rallies,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
The Pakistan government must immediately course correct and put an end to the criminalization of peaceful protests and assemblies. It must stop its witch-hunt of dissenting groups on the basis of their ethnicity and reverse their decision designating PTM under the Anti-Terrorism Act
Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia
Criminalizing dissent through anti-terror laws
Under the wide powers of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Pakistan government can designate any organization as proscribed “on the basis of information received from any credible source.” However, the government has failed to provide any concrete evidence in this regard about the PTM. The Act also allows for the decision to be made ‘ex parte’, without a hearing or representations of those being proscribed.
Speaking with Amnesty International, Zubair Shah Agha, a member of the PTM’s Central Committee, said “there is a long and concerted effort to criminalize our movement through the Anti-Terrorism Act.”
Last month, it was revealed that at least 137 individuals had been listed as ‘prescribed persons’ under the ATA. This included many members of the PTM and Baloch activists belonging to the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), by mischaracterizing them as members of militant organizations. Speaking to Amnesty International, members of PTM and BYC in this list confirmed that they were not given any opportunity to challenge the same which has resulted in severe restrictions on their rights to privacy, freedom of movement and peaceful assembly.
Unlawful force, arbitrary arrests and detention
The ban comes days ahead of the Pashtun Qaumi Jirga (Pashtoon National Court), a gathering scheduled from 11 October in the Khyber District, citing “activities which are prejudicial to the peace and security of the country.”
Responding to this as a tactic often used by the Pakistani Government, Zubair said, “In the past, members of our movement have also been targeted under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance before and after public gatherings.”
There is a long and concerted effort to criminalize our movement through the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Zubair Shah Agha, a member of the PTM’s Central Committee
On 1 and 2 October, authorities used teargas and firearms to dismantle a peaceful protest camp in Jamrud, Khyber district. Nearly 100 PTM activists have been arrested and detained since 1 October under the MPO. The MPO Ordinance allows for preventative detention and up to three years of imprisonment for ‘any speech that can cause fear or alarm to the public.’
Further, 16 students from University of Malakand, who were canvassing and preparing to join the PTM gathering, were arrested on 4 October under charges of obstructing a public official on duty, criminal conspiracy, breach of peace and ‘public mischief’ under the Pakistan Penal Code. PTM leader Ali Wazir remains under detention since 3 August 2024. Last week, he was released on bail but re-arrested from outside the jail despite the Lahore High Court declaring illegal his detention under the MPO.
“The Pakistan government must immediately course correct and put an end to the criminalization of peaceful protests and assemblies. It must stop its witch-hunt of dissenting groups on the basis of their ethnicity and reverse their decision designating PTM under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” said Babu Ram Pant. “Amnesty International urges the Pakistani authorities to respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and refrain from obstructing the Pashtun Qaumi Jirga. All PTM activists and supporters who have been arbitrarily detained and arrested must be immediately released.”
Radio Free Europe – October 2024
Pakistan's Pashtun Movement Plans To Go Ahead With Assembly Despite Recent Violence
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) plans to go ahead with its Loya Jirga grand assembly on October 11 to discuss peace and security in northwestern Pakistan despite recent violence, including the deaths of three of its members.
Thousands of people took part on October 10 in a funeral prayer service for the three peace activists killed when police started firing at them a day earlier after the activists refused to vacate the venue for the Loya Jirga.
Pakistani authorities earlier this week banned the PTM, a popular civil rights movement that campaigns for the country's ethnic Pashtun minority. The PTM has been engaged in "certain activities that are harmful to public order and security," the Interior Ministry said on October 6 in a statement announcing the ban. It provided no details about the alleged activities.
The PTM on October 10 rejectedᅠthe accusation of the interior minister that it is trying to "create a parallel or parallel justice" in the country and "create division and differences in the society."
The PTM in recent days reported a series of police raids and arrests targeting its leaders and members ahead of the Loya Jirga to be held in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
The PTM has campaigned since 2018 for the civil rights of the country’s estimated 35 million ethnic Pashtuns. Many of Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtuns live in areas close to the border with Afghanistan, where the Pakistani military has conducted campaigns that it says defeated the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban or TPP.
The area has recently experienced a surge in militant violence. The TPP has claimed responsibility for much of it.
In the most recent incident, militants opened fire on October 10 on a police vehicle and killed two officers before fleeing the scene, police said. The attack happened in the city of Tank, local police official Sher Afzal said.
Within hours the military said it had killed four militants in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the TTP, which is outlawed in Pakistan. The group is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
In other recent violence in the country, two Chinese citizens were killed in a large blast near the airport of Karachi that the Chinese Embassy called a "terrorist attack." The blast was claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army.
The attack took place late on October 6 and it targeted a convoy of Chinese employees of the Port Qasim Electric Power Company Limited that was traveling from the airport, the embassy said. The Chinese citizens were working on the construction of two coal-fired power plants in Pakistan.
The latest violence comes ahead of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which will take place in Islamabad on October 15.
https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-ptm-loya-jirga-violence-pashtun/33154199.html
Instead of banning the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, engage it
The call for a grand Pashtun national jirga – council – encapsulates the need for Pashtun voices to be heard
By Rahim Nasar
Pakistan’s Federal Government in its latest notification has banned the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), labeling it as a “proscribed organization” that poses a threat to the peace and security of the country.
This is utterly ridiculous and against the standards of basic human rights. Blaming a peaceful movement and smearing it with the dirt of Pakistan’s failure to ensure security and peace is ironical. The movement has never been involved in any unlawful activity that might threaten Pakistan’s fragile security. Banning the PTM simply adds to Pashtun grievances against the state of Pakistan.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Police’s recent firing on the Camp of Pashtun Qami Adalat / Pashtun National Jirga, convened by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement in Khyber district, killed three people and seriously injured more than a dozen. It blatantly accentuates a disturbing practice of persecuting peaceful rights activists in the country. PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen
The outrageous encroachment on Jirga – which is emblematic of Pashtunwali, the Pashtun people’s code of honor, values, and customs – and on the community’s long-practiced tradition of collective deliberation has provoked further denunciation from among the Pashtun rights activists as well as the political leadership.
The police raid on Pashtun Jirga Camps unveils the significant disconnection between the state authorities and the Pashtun community. Misuse of state might against dissidents underscores dictatorship and a blatant violation of democratic principles.
In a state where government is grappling with a deteriorated economy, political instability, rampant insecurity and Baloch militancy, suppressing the PTM will add more to chaos and failure.
Led by university graduate Manzoor Pashteen, the PTM undoubtedly has emerged as the “Pashtun Zeitgeist” for advocating long-silenced Pashtun voices. More than 90% of Pashtun youths support the movement for peace and security of Pashtuns, who have endured the havoc of militancy, bomb blasts and violence.
Manzoor Pashteen’s call to hold a grand Pashtun national Jirga – council – today, October 11, to discuss issues of security and peace encapsulates the urgent need for a space wherein Pashtun voices are articulated and considered.
The movement, since its emergence in January 2018 following the extra-judicial killing of Naqeeb Mehsood, has colossally galvanized Pashtun collective consciousness against the securitization and Talibanization of the Pashtun belt.
The movement’s charter makes five demands:
ending extra-judicial killings,
establishing a truth and reconciliation commission on missing persons,
de-mining tribal areas,
cessation of Pashtun profiling at security check-posts, and
punishing former Karachi police officer Rao Anwar.
These constitute a legal plea for demanding justice and rights within the framework of the Constitution of Pakistan.
So far, the state authorities have not considered these demands, which are not radical. Nor do they challenge the jurisdiction of the constitution. Instead, key leaders of the PTM including Manzoor Pashteen, Ali Wazir and others have been detained and imprisoned multiple times. This sort of policy adds fuel to grievances that could distance Pashtun youth from the state.
Pakistan is already in a state of chaos and insecurity. Ethnic grievances, social extremism, religious fundamentalism and political instability have trapped the country in a stranglehold. In such scenarios, persecuting Pashtun youth will bring nothing but uncertainty at the national level, leading to a fiasco.
Importantly, in the current politically frenzied situation, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government may also exploit Pashtun sentiments for political gains in its conflict with the federal government, by denying the raid and blaming the federal government for attacking and burning the camps of Pashtun National Jirga.
In either case, the KP government is responsible for the planned assault. Under the 18th constitutional amendment, the police fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial government. The KP government’s denial of responsibility for the raid is a futile excuse.
The authorities must acknowledge that their violent assaults and myopic practices against the PTM represent serious miscalculations that can never be in the state’s interest. The complex tapestry of crisis and alienation of a significant segment of the population on political and security grounds will obviously strengthen the anti-state narrative among Pashtun youth, cementing their sense of marginalization.
The Pashtun belt has faced bitter experiences of terrorism, destruction and military operations. Millions of tribal Pashtuns were made internally displaced persons in a war that wasn’t ours. Persecution and detainment of PTM workers would undermine national cohesion.
The PTM is a blessing in disguise. The movement presents an opportunity for the state to engage Pashtuns, recalibrate the national narrative and embrace a transformative effort to achieve engagement and inclusivity.
An empowered negotiation with PTM and Manzoor Pashteen is a prerequisite for winning the trust of Pashtuns, and strengthening peace and stability. PTM’s demands are legitimate and in accordance with the constitution. These demands must be seriously considered. And prioritizing human rights, political participation, and the rule of law would bolster a sense of patriotism among them.
A straightforward step should be taken to end viewing the Pashtun belt from a security perspective. Instead, the federal government must focus on infrastructure development and equal distribution of rights to ensure Pakistan’s journey toward ethnic and national integrity.
Rahim Nasar, an Islamabad-based security and political analyst and PhD scholar, writes on regional security, political and strategic affairs with special focus on Central and South Asia. He tweets @RahimNasari.
https://asiatimes.com/2024/10/instead-of-banning-the-pashtun-tahafuz-movement-engage-it/