ARGUMENT

The Pakistani Military’s Worst

Nightmare Is Coming True
A human rights movement from Waziristan is finally bringing the country together
to challenge the brass.
BY DAUD KHATTAK | APRIL 30, 2019, 2:24 PM

F
or decades, Pakistan’s powerful military has been in control of the country’s politics
whether directly, as during several decades of military dictatorships, or indirectly, as
during attempts by civilian leaders to reassert their authority in the 1970s, 1990s, and
after 2008.

In their efforts to wrest control from the military, plenty of Pakistani politicians have been
defeated and dismissed from office. So dire was their record that, at times, challenging the
brass seemed like a fight not worth picking.

But all that may be changing at last.

Manzoor Pashteen, a 26-year-old man from an impoverished tribal background, is rapidly

becoming a symbol of resistance in a place where dissent is usually silenced as anti-state,
anti-Islam, or a result of nefarious foreign influence.

Pashteen’s Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), or Pashtun Protection Movement, came to

prominence in early 2018 in Waziristan, a remote outpost along Pakistan’s rugged border
with Afghanistan. Although the grievances PTM tapped into—discrimination against tribal
people, violence by the Taliban, and military presence in the area—were long-standing, the
trigger for the group’s recent explosion was the extrajudicial killing of an aspiring model and
artist from Waziristan in the city of Karachi in January 2018.

Despite a media blackout—the major news channels have refrained from covering PTM
gatherings or running interviews with its leadership, allegedly because of bullying and arrests
by the intelligence agencies—Pashteen’s protest is gaining ground. In February 2018, the
PTM staged a sit-in in Islamabad, which was followed by more protests against the military
in all major Pakistani cities. In February this year, for example, hundreds of young men and
women marched in Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, to demand freedom of
expression, respect for the country’s constitution, and civil rights. The name of their rally—
Shehri Tahafuz March, or Citizen Protection March—was an homage to PTM. And in April,
tens of thousands of people demonstrated under the PTM banner in the North Waziristan
city of Miran Shah.

At these rallies, a popular slogan is “Ye jo dehshat gardi hai, es ke peche wardi hai,” or “the
uniform is behind all the terrorism.”

But can such marches really change anything?

Over the decades, the majority of civilians and politicians have shied away from raising
questions about what they may privately acknowledge is the military’s encroachment on
civilian politics. The same goes for Prime Minister Imran Khan, who won office in 2018, and
is believed to be backed by the military establishment. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the leader of
the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, called Khan the “selected prime minister” during an
inaugural speech in the National Assembly. Since then, the word “selected” has been
repeatedly used by opposition politicians to criticize the military establishment for backing
Khan. They may have their own reasons for discrediting Khan, but other observers have
noted his closeness to the military as well.

Over the decades, the majority of civilians and politicians

have shied away from raising questions about what they
may privately acknowledge is the military’s encroachment
on civilian politics.

Thanks to social media and the momentum generated by PTM activists, however, more and
more Pakistanis have started criticize the military’s involvement in politics, including by
questioning the army’s corporate interests and its outsized budget and by censuring the
institution directly online. Although the military can silence conventional media, it has few
tools to restrict individual activity on social media. Even arrests and harassment of social
media activists have so far failed to suppress dissent.

Social media has also helped PTM spread its message nationwide. Waziristan had previously
existed in a virtual information black hole thanks to regular media blackouts during the days
of anti-Taliban operations. But with social media, news can get in—and out. That a protest
movement has spread from the area to other cities is a rarity for a district that often feels
completely disconnected—physically and culturally—from other parts of the country.
It is also unusual that a movement originally created to support ethnic Pashtuns has found
support across communal lines. In early February, for example, Ammar Ali Jan, a college
teacher and PTM supporter, was picked up by law enforcement agencies from his house in
Lahore in the middle of night on charges of supporting the PTM. In response, dozens of
Punjab-based activists launched a social media campaign for his release. A few days after his
release, Jan explained his ordeal in an op-ed. He clarified that he is not an ethnic Pashtun
but has supported the PTM in its broader struggle against human rights violations.

It is also unusual that a movement originally created to

support ethnic Pashtuns has found support across
communal lines.

Facing widespread protest, the Pakistani military has resorted to its old playbook and
condemned the PTM and other emerging movements as “fifth-generation warfare”—that is,
hybrid warfare against the state. Meanwhile, the military has also linked Pashteen and others
to foreign governments and intelligence agencies. Addressing a news conference on April 29,
Pakistani military spokesman Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor accused the PTM leadership of getting
money from Indian and Afghan intelligence. “But tell us how much money did you get from
the NDS [Afghan National Directorate of Security] to run your campaign?” he asked. “How
much money did RAW [India’s Research and Analysis Wing] give you for the first dharna
[sit-in] in Islamabad?”

In a bid to counter the PTM, state security agencies have swamped social media, Twitter in
particular, with their own posts. Twitter accounts of ambiguous origins attack journalists and
social media activists who criticize the military or the government. In turn, Facebook has
removed more than 100 accounts, pages, and groups linked to the Pakistani military’s public
relations arm.

So far, pressure has failed to silence dissent. Arrests, online harassment, and threats are now
openly debated in social media forums, which encourages the brave to speak out.
Questioning the military’s use of extremist proxies, relations with India, violence in Kashmir,
defense and military expenditures, constitutional supremacy, and even alleged human rights
abuses in Baluchistan province is no longer as taboo as it used to be. In fact, Pakistanis are
now promoting hashtags to highlight such issues.
And that is the worst nightmare of Pakistan’s policymakers. Although Khan still enjoys
support from many Pakistani civilians, his continued silence about the security agencies’
alleged human rights violations and harassment of peaceful demonstrators will likely dent
his popularity in the longer run. He is already seen as the military’s man in Islamabad—and
that position is getting less and less comfortable to occupy.

Daud Khattak is a Senior Editor of Radio Mashaal for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague. The views expressed here
are the author's own and do not represent those of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Twitter: @daudkhattak1

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TAGS: ARGUMENT, CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS, PAKISTAN, SOUTH ASIA COMMENTS