Daily Times

Those who assume that Rao Anwar’s surrender would end the historic Pakhtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), are misguided. Anwar’s arrest was just one part of PTM’s demands, because the fact of the matter is that Anwar’s arrest will not end the problem of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of tribal Pakhtuns.

PTM is likely to hold a rally in Parachinar soon after Peshawar, which is expected on April 8. Many of us know that last year in June, some young Pakhtuns-led a massive protest against security forces for their mistreatment of locals, and failure to protect the area from acts of terrorism, which targeted the Shia minority in particular. This suggests that the rally in Parachinar would not only add more vigour to this ongoing movement, but it also shows that the PTM is prodigiously uniting Pakhtuns under one umbrella. As we know, Parachinar is a predominantly Shia area. This shows that the PTM is also over coming sectarian differences.

Despite the initial blackout, electronic media couldn’t resist the PTM’s rising popularity and has now (perhaps, had to) decided to give some of its airtime to PTM spokesperson, Manzoor Pashteen. Unsurprisingly, the media’s role in highlighting this movement has been lacklustre. This time, it has also been problematic and patronising.

For example, some of our senior and urban journalists assume that these ‘tribal’ youth don’t have their agency to act independently. One particular anchor — while interviewing Manzoor in his show on March 15 — gave him lessons on how movements ‘work’ and how they get ‘hijacked’ by giving an irrelevant example of mithai (sweet). I don’t doubt his intention, but this brotherly advice was not suitable at all on a live show. It gives an impression that he is interviewing an immature, apolitical and emotional kid who could be exploited, therefore, he needs a crash-course on ‘how to protect movement from bad boys’.

In this same show, the co-host seemingly got offended when Manzoor gave an expected answer to his question on the Army Public School (APS) massacre. The co-host was uncomfortable with slogans raised in PTM rallies, which accused the military for alleged involvement in the APS attack.

Ubiquitous discussion about PTM on different media channels could be a good sign but it also hints at an attempt to outmanoeuvre or discredit this movement. Let’s face the bitter truth. The media has often been complicit and has played an important part in exploitation of oppressed nations. The mainstream media’s criminal silence on heinous human rights violations in Balochistan, FATA and GB make it complicit.

Of course, I am not saying that every programme and anchor takes ‘instructions’ but every programme (deliberately or unintentionally) is playing its part to discredit and divert this movement. One senior journalist has done more than four programmes on PTM and he is also making sure that this movement remains under the ambit of the Constitution and respects the federation. Needless to say, from the very first day, Manzoor and PTM have succinctly been mentioning that their demands and struggle are and will remain under the framework of Pakistan.

In addition, Manzoor was interrogated in almost all programmes about the ‘anti-army’ slogans raised in rallies and on social media. Those slogans were dubbed an instrument of ‘other hands’. Furthermore, when it comes to social media, even veteran journalists play naive sometimes, knowing how easy it is for a few individuals to penetrate and malign a movement.

PTM goes well beyond the Pakhtun issue now. It is an awareness campaign that challenges the deep state everyone knows exists

Nevertheless, this constant pressure to remain in the ‘Constitutional and federal framework’ makes the PTM seem suspicious, as it creates an impression that it aims to ‘disintegrate’ the country. As a consequence, those who are only asking that their fundamental human rights be respected end up on the defensive, forced to give unnecessary clarifications.

This is what the media is doing now; shifting the whole debate from a human rights violation in FATA to ‘anti-state’ slogans. This is a tool to curb its rising popularity and restrict PTM from becoming a collective struggle.

Some say that giving PTM a Pakhtun outlook and making it anti-establishment would further exacerbate the situation. Well, this pacifist — rather sanguine I would say — approach had always been there where people of FATA have been raising their voices peacefully (without criticizing army) but nothing has been achieved so far.

What makes PTM unique is its bold and unapologetic stance on the military’s abuse of civilian dignity. If it doesn’t mention the military, then it would be no different from Jamaat-i-Islami, JUI-F or PTI who speak about FATA but ignore naming security forces and their involvement in enforced disappearances.

PTM goes well beyond the Pakhtun issue now. It is an awareness campaign that challenges the deep state everyone knows exists. It has the potential to gather various oppressed groups on one platform. One example was its recent rally in Quetta, where Balochis and Hazara Shias took part in huge numbers. Similarly, it could appeal to more people from Karachi as well as GB.

The longer PTM lasts, the more likely it is to transform into a collective movement of oppressed masses, which has the potential to end the power of the ‘de facto’ state.

Che Guevara’s famous quote says that, ‘I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. It exists when people liberate themselves.’ Manzoor’s emergence shows that there are people who want to liberate themselves from a state of oppression. He is challenging people’s conscience and liberating them from their dogmatic and fallacious belief in a ‘messiah’ of Pakistan. He is a rabble-rouser who is paving the way for an environment where resistance becomes possible and the oppressed would coalesce. Manzoor might be killed, abducted, or discredited, but he has sown the seeds of agitation which give rise to hope that one day things can be different.

Writer is an activist. He was a Chevening Scholar; studied Religion in Global Politics at SOAS. E-mail: jafferamirza@gmail.com. Twitter @jafferamirza

Published in Daily Times, March 28^th 2018.