Daily Times

Two controversial Pakistani lawmakers, Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), were reportedly received by Afghanistan’s prime intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS) during their visit to Kabul. This raises eyebrow as the same intelligence agency is accused of harboring anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan and beyond.

According to details, Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir received a special protocol by NDS and other agencies upon their arrival in Kabul where they had landed to attend oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected president Ashraf Ghani.

Notably, their names were on ECL, however the two lawmakers were given special favor to attend the oath taking ceremony in neighboring country.

Initially, they were stopped from travelling by immigration officials at Islamabad airport. When they did arrive in Kabul, following Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s intervention, Ghani delayed his speech as he sent a helicopter to bring them to the venue. People on Twitter wondered – why the special treatment?

Dawar and Wazir are active members of the Pashtun Tahafuz (Protection) Movement (PTM), which in the past two years has staged rallies and protests against Pakistan’s powerful military and the effects of the war on terror on the Pakhtun population.

It drives support mainly from the tribal regions that border Afghanistan. Offensives against the militants have destroyed homes and businesses in the mountainous region. Tens of thousands have been displaced and their return obstructed by government indifference and delays in compensation.

It is worth noting that Fawad Chaudhry, senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Federal Minister for Science and Technology, has recently urged the speaker NA to take notice of Wazir’s anti-Pakistan statements.