Pakistan: Prominent rights activist and politician arrested after rally

A prominent Pakistani human rights activist anda former lawmaker were arrested on Sunday (August 20) after they attended a protest against enforced disappearances in the country.

Lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and politician Ali Wazir appeared at the first protest in months to be staged by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which fights for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns.

The pair was produced in a court in Pakistani capital Islamabad on Sunday and sent to custody. A case was registered against them under anti-terrorism act. Islamabad police said they face"serious charges".

PTM was formed to protest against what it says are military excesses during anti-terror operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is northwestern region of Pakistan where most Pashtuns live. Pakistani military denies accusations of excesses.

On Friday, up to 3000 people were in attendance at a protest in Islamabad. Mazari-Hazir and Wazir both gave speeches in which they condemned harassment of Pashtuns. They called for missing people to be returned.

"You are being stopped as if you are the terrorists, while the (Pakistani) Taliban have taken over your homes again," Mazari-Hazir told the crowds in a video posted on social media.

A PTM spokesman told AFP that dozens more members have also been detained since the protest held in the capital Islamabad.

"It's unacceptable and points to a larger, more worrying pattern of state-sanctioned violence against people exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly," the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement.

No warrant

Shireen Mazari, who was Pakistan's human rights minister in former prime minister Imran Khan's government, alleged that her daughter was taken away from her home in Islamabad by plainclothes women. Mazari said that no warrant was presented.

"My daughter was in her night clothes and said 'let me change' but they just dragged her away," she posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Ali Wazir is a PTM founding member. He has long been an outspoken critic of the military and their anti-terror operations in the former tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

Wazir was part of the previous government and represented the PTM. The government dissolved earlier this month.

Pakistan has long grappled with militancy in the border areas near Afghanistan, with attacks are on the rise since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

There have been many protests from the locals against the surge in violence. People are demanding better protection from the state.

(With inputs from agencies)

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