Manzoor Pashteen, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), has strongly condemned organized attempts by Pakistan’s military generals and ruling politicians to impose direct military rule and Governor’s rule on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province under the pretext of declaring a state of emergency.
Kabul 24: In a statement published on his official Facebook page, the civil rights leader explicitly stated that top military generals and establishment figures in Islamabad are repeating past failed policies to strip away local constitutional authority and establish complete military control over the Pashtun homeland in this strategic province.
Pashteen also severely criticized the unlawful detention of Suhail Afridi, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, along with the recent wave of arrests targeting leaders, political activists, and members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. He characterized these authoritarian actions as completely illegal, oppressive, and anti-democratic, designed primarily to silence dissent, intimidate political opponents, and suppress the democratic will of the region’s people.
Critiquing Pakistan’s core governance architecture, the activist highlighted deep-seated structural flaws within key state institutions. He argued that Pakistan’s legal, judicial, parliamentary, and official media systems, instead of fulfilling their fundamental duty to protect the civil, human, and constitutional rights of the Pashtun population, are being systematically weaponized to exert pressure, enforce political suppression, and marginalize the community.
Analysis
Manzoor Pashteen’s explicit stance highlights the deepening rift between Pakistan’s federal center and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Imposing Governor’s rule and arresting senior political figures represent a defensive maneuver by the establishment to curb the influence of opposition parties and grassroots civil rights movements. However, ignoring structural Pashtun grievances while relying heavily on military and judicial coercion will not yield long-term stability; rather, it threatens to further erode trust in state institutions and escalate social unrest across the region.
