Daily Times

The Peshawar rally organised by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) on April 8, was unique in many ways.  The most remarkable was the surprisingly huge response they received from the city. Apparently, it was far beyond the expectations of the organisers. By 3 o’clock the earmarked portion for the rally swelled beyond capacity, forcing the removal of partitions to accommodate the expanding bulge.

Even when it began to rain during Ali Wazir’s speech, the crowd remain unperturbed, and stayed for Manzoor Pakhtun’s 32 minute long speech. Furthermore, if the participation of women in a rally in Peshawar was not noteworthy enough, victims of enforced disappearances were also finally given the opportunity to share their heart wrenching ordeals. But the most salient feature was the attendance of Pakhtuns holding a myriad of different opinions and political points of view.

It was amazing seeing Pakhtun intelligentsia, writers, poets, professionals, teachers, professors, social activists and political workers congregating in one place under the PTM banner. Their faces were visibly beaming with new hope, exhibiting a sort of relief from the long mental agony they had suffered. There was finally some optimism that a new beginning could be around the corner, and that Pakistan’s long suffering Pakhtun community could finally find a way out of the existing political suffocation and decay.

For most of the participants; this was the first time they had seen such a spectacle. A rally that had convergence of views and determination for a cause. The majority of them defied their pre-held political affiliation and loyalties, notwithstanding the forewarnings of their respective parties. As we surveyed the crowd, one of our friends pointed out that the rally could be termed a gathering of opinion makers rather than a mere show of reluctant and passive participants.

Right now, it’s just the beginning. Nobody can predict the political future of this movement at the moment with much precision

Coming back to the role played by women; they were not only active in the rally but had a leading role in mobilisation, organisation and management. This is not just unique in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), but all of Pakistan.

At least in my knowledge there is no precedent in KP for a woman, particularly a young woman like Sana Ijaz, as a steward performing as stage secretary of a huge public rally attracting crowds from FATA and other areas with a predominantly Pakhtun population.

The PTM movement is not only shredding the stereotypical, engineered image of the Pakhtun seem by seem, but also washing away the arbitrary division among them. If the Zhob, Qaila Saifullah and Quetta rallies destroyed the artificial geographical division between Pakhtuns, the Peshawar rally further substantiated that, but also unified the various strains of political opinion found among them. These rallies have further reinforced the Pakhtuns’ confidence. It convinced them that despite being an oppressed community, they can stand up to unaccountable powers through force of character and moral courage.

The Peshawar rally also sifted grain from the chaff. Those, although through meek voices were raising the issues earlier or at least preferred to be silent during the storm rather than acquiesce or become abettors, proved to be natural allies of the movement.

However, the rally proved to be a nightmare for those who had shed Pakhtun blood. When these people distanced themselves from the movement, they exposed themselves, and landed right on the dock of the people’s court. The PTM has proved that these political elements do not represent the Pakhtuns’ voices or sentiments. The Peshawar rally showed that today, the masses are ready to face injustice, but not those who are supposed to be their leaders.

The electronic media’s blackout of the rally, like the previous rallies, substantiates that the powers to be are afraid of the truth which the movement exposes in its rallies in the form of eye witness accounts and undeniable proof. However, such blackouts prove that the media is neither free nor reliable. It also substantiates that the narratives woven through this media are fabricated and misleading.

This has made clear that for most Pakhtuns, particularly those from rural areas, the first priority is to subscribe and relay through social media or refer to the international media. To my surprise, last night after the rally, my brother was watching the VOA Pakhto on TV. When I inquired as to why he was watching that channel, he replied that no Pakistani channel telecast the Peshawar rally, but VOA was covering it.

26 year old Manzoor Pakhtun, who hails from a modest background, led the PTM youth, and succeeded in galvanising and pulling massive crowds against all odds and in the most oppressive environment. A remarkable feat. Manzoor epitomises the common cause shared and owned by everyone. This is not his only achievement, as the PTM’s success has united the Pakhtun diaspora, particularly in the Western world. Rallies were organised in the US, England, Germany, Australia and Ukraine.

Right now, it’s just the beginning. Nobody can predict the political future of this movement at the moment with much precision. But what it did in terms of political mobilisation and awareness regarding human, constitutional rights and challenging the powerful and unaccountable usurpers in a span of about two and half months is unprecedented. The political environment and discourse in the Pakhtun region is not the same as it was two and a half months ago.

Perhaps, the Peshawar rally can trigger the process of Ibn-Khaldun’s theory of Asabiyya, explaining how (political) dynasties come into being, and fall if the successors fail to read the writing on the wall.

The writer is a political analyst hailing from Swat. Tweets @MirSwat

Published in Daily Times, April 12^th 2018.