• Naqvi says govt open to talks, but ‘parallel judicial system’ won’t be allowed
• PTI takes U-turn on ban, Barrister Saif says proscribed groups can’t hold gatherings
• PTM claims three activists killed, nearly dozen injured in Jamrud

KHYBER/ISLAMABAD: After the interior minister warned the recently-banned Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) against holding a grand jirga planned for Oct 11, a spokesperson for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday said a proscribed organisation cannot be allowed to hold gatherings, under the law.

The federal government had proscribed the PTM on Oct 6, after which at least 52 people, including its leader Manzoor Pashteen, were placed in the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

On the other hand, PTM claimed that three of its activists were killed and almost a dozen injured in alleged clashes with law enforcers in Jamrud, after they arrived at the jirga venue.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the planned gathering by the PTM would not be tolerated and criticised the movement for “inciting” the public against state institutions. However, he said that talks could be held if done in a ‘proper manner’.

According to Mr Naqvi, the federal government had no issue if people want to organise a jirga. “Jirgas have been held before and will continue to be held and no one has an issue with it. A jirga comprises a gathering of tribal elders; bringing people in the thousands is not called a Jirga, but something else.”

The minister said the government would not allow a “parallel judicial system” at any cost, adding that the PTM was proscribed because of its “rhetoric against state institutions and police”.

“You are talking about [dividing] the nation by promoting ethnic divide. You can definitely [talk] about political topics and rights but… it cannot be permitted that you try to turn the nation against the institution.”

“[PTM] has been banned. Now, whoever assists them in any way or tries to help them out will also fall under these sanctions,” he said, adding that the KP government had placed 54 people on the Fourth Schedule while Balochistan has done the same for 34 persons.

KP govt takes ‘U-turn’

After the minister’s presser, KP government spokesperson Barris­ter Saif endorsed Mr Naqvi’s stance, saying that the proscribed organisation could not hold its meeting in Khyber as the district administration had imposed a ban on gatherings under Section 144.

He said that despite these legal actions, PTM was still trying to hold a meeting in the district, which had resulted in a “clash” between police and its workers.

Only a day earlier, in a central committee meeting chaired by KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI had opposed the ban on the PTM.

In a statement from the meeting, released on X, the party said that force could not be used to settle political issues, calling the ban on PTM “counterproductive. PTI had also said it would not endorse the use of force to deny political rights to stakeholders.

‘Three PTM men killed’

The PTM, on the other hand, was defiant in its resolve to congregate in Jamrud for the Pakhtun Qaumi Jirga, despite efforts by the administration and the law enforcers to dissuade them from doing the same.

Information gathered from the site of the PTM jirga (Awami Adalat) in Jamrud revealed that a large contingent of law enforcers had occupied the field on Tuesday night and entrenched themselves in bunkers. They also had positioned some armed personnel carriers in front of their positions, in anticipation of a possible clash with PTM activists.

In Jamrud, a small group of activists had erected a temporary campsite, which was uprooted by law enforcers, who evicted those present there in a crackdown that began in the early hours of Wednesday.

Both sides — law enforcers and PTM activists — faced off in the afternoon.

As unarmed PTM activists and Kukikhel tribesmen started an organised march towards the entrenched law enforcers, they faced intense tear gas shelling followed by aerial firing, meant to scare the activists, some of whom were said to be brandishing slingshots.

Three people, identified as Kh­a­lil Afghan, Sikandar, and Ramzan were killed, and their bodies were shifted to their respective districts, PTM said in a statement.

Eventually, law enforcers had to retreat amid sloganeering and stone-pelting by emotionally charged activists.

It was also learnt that the PTM activists torched a police vehicle and dismantled the bunkers along with levelling the ground as part of their preparations for the grand assembly on October 11.

Police officials in Khyber could not be approached for comment, despite several attempts.

Footage shared on social media after the clashes showed PTM volunteers shifting their injured colleagues to the hospital. Informa­tion gathered from Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) in Pesh­a­war said 13 people were brought there, while a hospital statement said that at least three men had already passed away, while the remaining were being treated.

Meanwhile, mobile services remained suspended in Jamrud, Regi Lalma, Nasir Bagh, Karkhano market, and Hayatabad since early Wednesday morning. Mobile internet has not been working in the area since Oct 2.

The incident was condemned by Awami National Party’s central president Aimal Wali Khan and Qaumi Watan Party’s chief Aftab Ahmad Sherpao.

South Waziristan

Separately, two PTM workers were injured in police shelling and several others were arrested in raids aimed at preventing activists from participating in the grand jirga.

Sources said a clash between police and PTM activists in Wana and Gazey Peza areas of South Waziristan left two men injured, who were shifted to the DHQ Hospital in Wana. They said that PTM workers were on their way to attend the gathering when they were intercepted.

At the Kohat tunnel, commuters remained stuck in a traffic jam due to containers placed on the road to stop PTM activists from reaching the jirga venue in Khyber.

Manzoor Ali in Peshawar and Adam Khan in South Waziristan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024