Pakistan: Mass demonstrations against government’s military policy

Pakistanis are back on the streets. The current mass protests, organized by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), are being sparked by ongoing terrorist attacks and Pakistani military operations that are destabilizing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Following the terrorist attacks by jihadist groups and subsequent Pakistani military operations, a mass rally was organized on June 25. The aim was to protest against the terrorist attacks targeting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the regional military policy of the Pakistani government. The protesters expressed their opposition to the use of their land for further military operations and wars.

The PTM held another rally on June 22 in North Waziristan District. The rally condemned the “rise in killings, enforced disappearances and landmine threats, demanding an end to violence and human rights abuses in the region.”

Asian News International (ANI) reported that thousands of people took part in the demonstration against what they saw as “ongoing oppression, state terrorism, exploitation of mineral resources, contract killings and kidnappings.” The report continued:

“We will no longer tolerate this terrorist policy of the (political) establishment and the army. In this policy, not only the Pashtuns (an ethnic group that is the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan after the Punjabis) but all nations and people from lower classes are being exploited,” PTM founder Manzoor Pashteen said.

Pashteen further said, “This is terrorism and behind it is the (Pakistani military) uniform. If the military’s terror policy is not changed, soon the common people will get fed up and will overthrow the military regime. We are closely monitoring the public anger.” ANI reported:

“The recent rallies underscore the growing influence of the PTM and the growing frustration of Pashtuns over military actions in their homeland.

“The turnout at the rally is a signal of widespread dissatisfaction and an urgent call for change.

“The participants expressed their desire for peace and justice, emphasizing the urgent need to end hostilities and establish a just and equal system that protects the rights and freedoms of all citizens.

The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), founded in 2018, is a grassroots movement fighting for the rights of Pashtuns in Pakistan.

“The PTM, led by Manzoor Pashteen, was formed in response to the human rights abuses faced by Pashtuns, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and the threat of landmines in their regions.

“The movement has been organising peaceful protests and rallies demanding accountability from the Pakistani military and government.”

In recent years, Pakistan has seen an increase in militant attacks, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In January 2023, for example, militants killed at least 101 people, mostly police officers.

On June 21, 2024, the Pakistani military said at least five soldiers in a military convoy were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a longtime ally of the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.

On June 15, 2024, residents of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province staged a demonstration against the lack of security in the region, condemning both the government and terrorists, according to sources.

Today, protests in Pakistan’s Balochistan province continue. The women’s movement against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings began in January and has grown exponentially. Protesters are demanding an end to the enforced disappearances rampant in Balochistan, as well as accountability for those involved in the murders of Baloch people. Organizers are calling the protests a “march against Baloch genocide.”

The usual response of the Pakistani government to the pleas of the people of Balochistan has been bloody counter-revolution and repression in the region. This includes murders and enforced disappearances. According to media reports, bodies have turned up, some with obvious signs of torture.

Voice of Baloch Missing Persons, an organization that works for the rights of missing persons in Balochistan, says there are around 14,000 missing people from Balochistan.

Since Pakistan annexed the region in 1948, Balochistan has seen at least five rebel movements for independence or broader autonomy. The fifth wave of insurgency began in the early 21st century. The history of the region is marked by Pakistan’s resolute suppression of the Baloch people’s right to self-determination.

The fifth insurgency, in which Balochistan is demanding greater autonomy for Balochistan, is now in its third decade.

As Sushant Sareen, a senior research fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, writes, since Pakistan was founded in 1948, “it has managed to maintain its grip on Balochistan, but only through brute force and censorship that would put even the Chinese to shame.”

Sareen explains:

“For over a decade, young and old women from Balochistan have been demonstrating and demanding the whereabouts of their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers who were forcibly abducted by Pakistani security agencies. Most of them were allegedly massacred by the Pakistani army. There have been dozens of cases where mutilated bodies of activists who were subjected to enforced disappearances were dumped on the roadside. There have even been reports of several mass graves being discovered. However, there has been no closure for Balochistan, which has continued to fuel militancy.

“Even today, young Baloch students and activists studying in Punjab and other provinces are ‘disappearing.’ Every other day, there are reports of young people, farmers, professionals, falling victim to enforced disappearances by security forces.

“Instead of using the protests and civil disobedience in Balochistan to take the political initiative and engage the Baloch people, the Pakistani army has chosen to crush it with brute force and suppress dissent,” Sareen adds. “But this only fuels anger against Pakistan and creates a situation that is fast reaching the point of no return.”

According to Sareen, “Pakistan’s biggest advantage over the people of Balochistan is the inability of Balochistan to unite under a common leadership — both political and military. This allows Pakistan to divide and rule…Until Balochistan is unable to unite under a common flag, Pakistan will continue its colonialist approach and genocidal policies in Balochistan.”

For all of these serious human rights violations and more, Pakistan was first added to the U.S. Department of State’s “County of Particular Concern” (CPC) list in 2018 and has remained on the list every year since. “Country of Particular Concern” is a designation by the U.S. Secretary of State for a country responsible for particularly serious violations of religious freedom.

Similarly, the Department of State’s 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan details widespread human rights abuses in the country, such as:

“(B) wanton or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearances; torture and instances of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; transnational repression of individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; punishment of family members for alleged crimes committed by a relative; serious abuses in the conflict, including allegedly unlawful killings of civilians and enforced disappearances; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the media, including violence against journalists, arbitrary arrests and disappearances of journalists, censorship, criminal defamation laws, and laws against blasphemy,” among others.

Whether it’s Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there seems to be a huge gap between the goals of the government and the needs of the people of Pakistan. While many in these regions are simply seeking decent living conditions, security and basic human rights, Pakistan is betting on militarization, policies that enable terrorism, economic, ethnic and religious oppression, resource exploitation and destabilization of the wider region.

As a result, mass protests continue across the country, as well as acts of terrorism, conflicts and human rights violations.