Daily Times

The state is on the back-foot. Having been confronted with a protesting citizenry that demands nothing more than fundamental rights, it has gone into overdrive. In short, the response to the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement’s (PTM) preparations for tomorrow’s Karachi jalsa has been disproportionate.

To be sure, we, here at Daily Times, do not agree with some of the PTM rhetoric. That is, we believe that no one state institution can be held responsible for Pashtun marginalisation and worse. This also holds true whether in terms of tacit consent for the US drone programme in the so-called tribal badlands or the mismanagement of FATA. Then there is the not un-small matter of the war that continues to rage across Pakistan’s western border. All of which have tragically impacted this community.

That being said, however, Daily Times stands with the PTM as it tries against all the odds to exercise the right of every citizen of this country to public assembly and peaceful protest. Yet more than 150 of the movement’s members have been slapped with sedition and terror charges for having held rallies at three separate locations; where PTM activists stand accused of delivering inflammatory speeches against the Army, police and Sindh Rangers. Thus three FIRs have been registered on behalf of the state. These include Sections 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Anti-Terrorism Act relating to terrorism and the spread of sectarian hatred. There have also been reports of the Rangers, a paramilitary force no less, arresting those associated with the PTM.

The good news is that the government-backed jirga of tribal elders and parliamentarians — constituted to act as mediator between the PTM and the state — has called for restraint. It has also requested that the young Pashtuns be allowed to go ahead and hold May 13 rally as planned; particularly given that the jirga is to hold a meeting with them towards the middle of next week.

Yet utterly disappointing has been Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s resounding silence on the question of this unjust crackdown that is happening on his watch. This has led to murmurings of political opportunism. After all, when it came to the PTM Lahore jalsa, the PPP co-Chairman stood firm with the Pashtuns; defending their right to hold a rally at the city’s historic Mochi Gate. Some pundits have therefore already begun questioning whether or not this represents a calculated move to position the PPP as a more reliable ‘partner’ for certain state institutions than PTI.

All of which means that the media needs to more urgently than ever stand united on the one-point agenda of covering the PTM rally. For an important part of the fourth estate’s mandate is that of public information service. This is especially crucial in light of the firing by the national broadcaster of anchor Sana Ejaz on the grounds of her being an “active member” of this indigenous movement.

And lastly, we hope that the Chief Justice of Pakistan, a gentleman known for his judicial activism on behalf of the country’s under-privileged, takes notice of the charges that the state has levelled against the PTM and does the needful. As per the Constitution.  *

Published in Daily Times, May 12^th 2018.