The Pakistani military is facing immense opposition in the restive northwestern region — not from the Taliban, but rather a popular anti-war Pashtun movement, whose leader Manzoor Pashteen spoke to DW about the conflict.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Qureshi
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On May 26, an armed confrontation between Pakistani troops and supporters of a Pashtun nationalist movement left at least 13 people dead and 25 others wounded, including five soldiers. The incident took place at Khar Kamar checkpoint in the North Waziristan region, near the Afghan border.
The protest was led by two members of parliament — Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar — who are members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). The military arrested both parliamentarians for allegedly attacking the Khar Kamar checkpoint.
The PTM has gained considerable strength in the past two years, drawing tens of thousands of people to its protest rallies. Its supporters are critical of the war on terror, which they say has ravaged Pashtun areas in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The PTM demands an end to extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detentions of Pashtuns in the name of the war on terror. The movement has struck a chord with thousands of Pashtuns, who blame both the Pakistani military and jihadists for destruction in their region.
Lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were arrested for allegedly attacking the Khar Kamar checkpointImage: Reuters/A. Soomro
The Pashtun issue has been a sensitive one for Pakistan since the South Asian country gained independence from British rule in 1947. With a large Pashtun population in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the idea of an independent Pashtun-majority homeland baffled Pakistan right from the beginning. Some experts say Pakistani authorities favored Islamization of the region to rein in the "Pashtunistan" movement, led by liberal and secular politicians and activists.
The Afghan government, which usually refrains from commenting on Pakistan's domestic politics, has praised PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen's campaign in the past. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani shared several tweets about the "Pashtun march" in February 2018, hoping that it would succeed in "uprooting and eradicating terrorism from the region."
Last month, Major General Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, accused the PTM leadership of working against the country. He alleged that the PTM is receiving money from Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies.
In an interview with DW, Pashteen talked about the clash in May with Pakistani troops and the "anti-state" allegations against his movement.
DW: Why didn't you immediately respond to the May 26 clash?
Manzoor Pashteen: We don't speak out without evidence. Until I received credible evidence of what exactly happened [on May 26], I refrained from commenting on it.
Pakistan: A decade of deadly terrorist attacks
Radical groups have killed thousands of people since Pakistan joined the United States and its allies in a war against terror in 2001. Here is a look at some of the major terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the last decade.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2007 - Twin blasts rock Karachi on former PM’s return
Two bomb blasts struck former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s motorcade on October 18, 2007 in the southern port city of Karachi. Bhutto was returning to Pakistan after almost eight years. The attack left 139 people dead. Bhutto, the first democratically elected female head of an Islamic country, died in an attack two months later, on December 27 in the northern city of Rawalpindi.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Khawer
2008 - Wah bombing
The Wah bombing was a double suicide attack on the Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) in Wah on August 21, 2008. At least 64 people died in the attack, which remains to date the deadliest on a military site in Pakistan's history. A spokesman from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2008 - Insurgents target luxury hotel in the capital
At least 60 people died and over 200 were injured when a truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the Marriot Hotel on September 20, 2008, in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Five foreign nationals were among the casualties, while another 15 were injured.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Matthys
2009 - Peshawar bombing
A car bomb was detonated in Mina Bazar (a market for women and children) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The bomb killed 125 people and injured more than 200 others. The Pakistani government put the blame on the Taliban, but both Taliban and al-Qaida denied involvement in the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A Majeed
2009 - Market in Lahore targeted
The December 2009 Lahore attacks were a series of two bomb blasts and a shooting which occurred in a crowded market in the country’s second largest city of Lahore on December 7. At least 66 people were killed. Most of the victims were women.
Image: DW/T.Shahzad
2010 - Suicide bomber targets volleyball match
A suicide car bomb killed 101 people at a village volleyball game in the northwestern district of Bannu.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Azam
2010 - Lahore Massacre
The May 2010 Lahore attacks also referred to as the Lahore Massacre occurred on May 28, 2010, during Friday prayers. 82 people were killed in simultaneous attacks against two mosques of the Ahmadi minority. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Image: Getty Images/N. Ijaz
2010 – Bomber targets market in tribal area
A suicide bomber killed 105 people in a busy market in the northwestern tribal district of Mohmand. The suicide bombing occurred on July 9 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The target of the attack was believed to be a meeting of tribal elders. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Majeed
2011 - Police training center in Charsadda attacked
A double bombing occurred on May 13, 2011, in Shabqadar Fort in the Charsadda District of northwestern Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Two suicide bombers killed at least 98 people outside the police training center. At least 140 people were injured. The explosions occurred while cadets were getting into buses for a ten day leave after their training course.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/H. Ahmed
2013 - Peshawar church bombing
On September 22, 2013, a twin suicide attack took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the country, killing 82 people. The TTP-linked Islamist group, Jundalah, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
2014 - Peshawar school massacre
On December 16, 2014, seven gunmen affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) conducted a terrorist attack on the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar. The militants opened fire on school staff and children, killing 154 people, including 132 school children. This was the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in the country.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/A Majeed
2015 – Gunmen target bus in Karachi
Eight gunmen attacked a bus on May 13, 2015, in Safoora Goth, in Karachi, Pakistan. The shooting left at least 46 people dead. All of the victims were from the Ismaili Shia Muslim minority. Banned militant group Jundallah claimed responsibility for the shooting. Also, pamphlets supporting the Islamic State terrorist group, with whom Jundallah claims allegiance, were found at the crime scene.
Image: STR/AFP/Getty Images
2016 – Lahore park bombing
On March 27, 2016, at least 75 people were killed in a suicide bombing that hit one of the largest parks in Lahore. The attack targeted Christians who were celebrating Easter. Fourteen of the dead were identified as Christians, while the rest were Muslims. The majority of victims were women and children. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a group affiliated with the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Ali
2016 – Quetta hospital bombing
On August 8, 2016, terrorists targeted the Government Hospital of Quetta in Pakistan with a suicide bombing and shooting that resulted in the death of over 70 People. The fatalities were mainly lawyers who had assembled at the hospital where the body of fellow attorney, Bilal Anwar Kasi, president of the Balochistan Bar Association, was brought after he was shot dead by an unknown gunman.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/B. Khan
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You accused Pakistan's security forces of targeting PTM supporters? Why would the military attack peaceful protesters?
The PTM has two elected representatives in parliament who speak out against the policies of our state institutions. The army doesn't like it. It is trying to remove such critics from our (elected) assemblies.
The people in our tribal areas have long demanded that the number of their [parliamentary] seats be increased so that they get better representation. A constitutional amendment, tabled by one of our lawmakers, Mohsin Dawar, was finally passed by the parliament. The army is wary of Dawar's popularity in his constituency. It fears that despite its attempts to rig the upcoming [local] election, PTM candidates are likely to win in the tribal areas. That is why they arrested Dawar.
The incident also shows that the government is not interested in allowing any political activity in the [tribal] region. By opening fire on demonstrators and then not allowing local media to report on it, the army is sending a clear message that it is against democratic activities in the region.
Your movement is accused of being anti-Pakistan. How would you respond to this allegation?
We are not anti-Pakistan; we are only anti-terrorism. We are against oppression in all its forms – be it perpetrated by "good or bad Taliban" or by the Pakistani military's intelligence agencies.
But critics say that your slogans are provocative and that they directly attack the military?
Our slogans are not anti-state, but anti-terror. By denouncing our demonstrations against terrorism as anti-state, the army is doing a disservice to our country. When people in our rallies raise slogans that "those responsible for terrorism are the ones in [military] uniform," they only refer to what a number of senior Pakistani generals have confessed publicly in the past. Even Prime Minister Imran Khan once said that our military generals were involved in promoting these (militant) activities.
We'll continue to demand our rights through peaceful protests and rallies.
Manzoor Pashteen is the leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (Movement for the protection of Pashtuns, PTM).
The interview was conducted by Mudassar Shah.
Militant Haqqani Network - a brief history
Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, has passed away after a protracted illness, the Taliban announced. Why is the Pakistan-based outfit considered one of the most feared militant groups in the region?
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Remnants of the Afghan war against Soviets
The Haqqani Network was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. In 1995, the Haqqani Network allied with the Taliban and the two groups captured the Afghan capital Kabul in 1996. In 2012, the US designated the group a terrorist organization. On September 4, 2018, the Taliban announced that Jalaluddin passed away after a long illness.
Image: AP
An Islamist ideologue
Jalaluddin Haqqani was born in 1939 in the Afghan province Paktia. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, which was founded in 1947 by the father of one of Pakistan's most prominent religious leaders, Maulana Sami ul Haq. Darul Uloom Haqqania is known for its alleged ties with the Taliban and other extremist groups.
Image: AP
Jalaluddin Haqqani as Taliban minister
Jalaluddin was made minister for Afghan tribal affairs under the Taliban rule. He remained in the post until the US toppled the Taliban regime in 2001. After the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin was considered the most influential militant figure in Afghanistan. Jalaluddin also had close links with the former al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Where is the Haqqani Network based?
Security experts say the command center of the group is based in Miranshah city of Pakistan's North Waziristan region along the Afghan border. US and Afghan officials claim the Haqqani Network is backed by the Pakistani military, a charge denied by Pakistani authorities. Washington says the group's fighters launch attacks on foreign and local troops and civilians inside Afghanistan.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Tanveer
The Haqqani heir
It is believed that Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2015, but his group denied those reports at the time. The network is now headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, Jalaluddin's son. Sirajuddin is also the deputy chief of the Taliban.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Who is Sirajuddin Haqqani?
Although there isn't much credible information available about Sirajuddin Haqqani, security experts say he spent his childhood in the Pakistani city of Miranshah. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, situated in Peshawar's suburbs. Sirajuddin is believed to be an expert on military affairs. Some analysts say Sirajuddin's views are more hard line than his father's.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Anas Haqqani's death sentence
One of Jalaluddin's sons is Anas Haqqani, whose mother hailed from the United Arab Emirates. He is currently in the custody of the Afghan government and is facing the death penalty. The Haqqani Network has warned Kabul of dire consequences if Afghan authorities hang Anas Haqqani.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/National Directorate of Security
How big is the Haqqani Network?
Research institutes and Afghan affairs experts say the group has between three and ten thousand fighters. The network allegedly receives most of its funding from the Gulf countries. The Haqqani Network is also involved in kidnappings and extortion through which it funds its operations.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Tanveer
Ties with other militant groups
The Haqqanis have close relations with other regional and international terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Taiba and Central Asian Islamist groups. Jalauddin Haqqani was not only close to bin Laden, but also had ties with al Qaeda's current chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.
