Wednesday, #RIP_PTM trended on Twitter as politician Mohsin Dawar officially launched his political party National Democratic Movement (NDM). As per reports, Mohsin Dawar will serve as the Central Organizer of NDM.
Mohsin Dawar previously served as the lawmaker and leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). However, due to differences with PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen over the party’s course of action, Mohsin Dawar announced the formation of NDM.
په ټول هیواد کې د ملګرو او ملاتړ کونکو سره د یو لړ رسمي مشورو وروسته ، موږ پریکړه وکړه چې یو سیاسي ګوند جوړ کړو. موږ به د سپتمبر په لومړۍ نیټه په پیښور کې ګوند اعلان کوو. موږ به د دې نوي پلیټ فارم له لارې د حقونو او انصاف لپاره خپلې مبارزې ته دوام ورکوو. https://t.co/gcL0xGrgRY
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) August 29, 2021
The news took social media by storm as Twitteratis claim that NDM marks the end of PTM. Amid calls of “RIP PTM” social media users heavily bashed PTM as well for its alleged anti-state activities.
PTM’s anti-state narratives
PTM originally aimed to highlight the problems faced by residents of tribal areas, especially North and South Waziristan, due to the Pakistan Army’s war against the Taliban. The problems included the dangers of land mines, frequent security checks at posts etc.
However, PTM failed to effectively highlight the socio-economic issues of North and South Waziristan. What transpired was an anti-state stance. The PTM leaders repeatedly took an anti-Pakistan position while targeting the armed forces. It also chanted slogans against Pakistan Army.
Read more: Unmasking PTM: The enemy behind tribal areas’ underdevelopment
Later, it was revealed by the government that PTM has the support of hostile factors that aim to destroy and malign Pakistan.
Minister Fawad Chaudhry said PTM ran 150 Twitter trends against Pakistan and was behind 3.7 million tweets, the majority of which emanated from India. PTM is also frequently accused of supporting terror activities within Pakistan.
He said the PTM had actively supported Baloch activism. On Aug 14, 2020, the hashtag ‘#BalochistanSolidarityDay’ trended with massive support from India.
Read more: How India fuels instability and terror in Pakistan
https://twitter.com/saifpak2733/status/1432918340150960129?s=20
The National Democratic Movement
With NDM, Mohsin Dawar aims to enter mainstream politics. According to the recently revealed manifesto of NDM, the party aims to ensure basic human rights. It also strongly advocates for freedom of speech.
The NDM manifesto is based on secularism, along with strong calls for democracy. However, social media critics maintain that NDM offers nothing unique as it too is touting the narrative of other political parties of Pakistan i.e democracy, and criticism of the government, for example, the Pakistan Democratic Movement.
The manifesto of the #NationalDemocraticMovement has been announced by the Central Organising Committee in the ongoing press conference in Peshawar. pic.twitter.com/23tTGyi8Sw
— National Democratic Movement (@NDM_Official) September 1, 2021