On the 2nd of February 2019, Arman Luni a courageous Pashtun human rights activist was cold-bloodedly murdered by a high-level Pakistani police officer. Shahid Arman Luni was brutally killed by the buttstock of a rifle while participating in a protest sit-in in Loralai of Balochistan. Three years on, despite calls for justice by his family and several massive peaceful protests calling for justice, his suspected killer still enjoys full freedom and the support of the Pakistani military and its intelligence agency ISI. It is symbolic of the double standards and lack of justice in Pakistan that such killers and terrorists roam free, while Ali Wazir, a human rights activist and an elected member of Pakistani parliament, has been in prison for one year, supposedly because of using harsh language against the state while calling for accountability.
Today Manzoor Pashteen and Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) members organized yet another peaceful protest march to remember Arman Luni and call for justice. Unfortunately, as usually, the Pakistani state instead of heeding the call for justice by its citizens, again turned to violence and brutally cracked down on peaceful protestors in Qila Saifullah. Shots were fired on defenceless protestors, including PTM leader Manzoor Pashtoon and provincial head of PTM, Noor Bacha. As a result of these state brutalities on broad daylight, Mr. Noor Bacha was injured.
Pashtun in Pakistan are the victim of a systematic repression by the Pakistani state, especially the military. Whole swaths of our lands have been militarized where the Pakistani military and its proxy terrorist groups kill and intimidate Pashtun with impunity. Those protesting against this war machine of the Pakistani military are the targets of assassination, extrajudicial abductions and various other forms of intimidation by the Pakistani intelligence agencies.
The only grassroots rights movement that dares to call out the generals for these crimes, is PTM. The military therefore has been brutally cracking down on PTM activists. Today’s armed attack on a peaceful protest fits into a disturbing pattern of a crackdown on Pashtun who peacefully call for peace, justice and accountability.
PTM Europe once again calls on the United Nations Human Rights Council, other human rights organizations, the European Union, United States, United Kingdom and other nations that respect human rights and freedom of speech to condemn today’s armed attack by Pakistani intelligence agencies on a peaceful protest and all the other intimidations against PTM that have been taking place in the last 3 years and to urge Pakistan to respect the rights of Pashtun and other minorities.
We demand the right to live a peaceful life!
PTM Europe