The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police on Tuesday registered a case against Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader and Member of National Assembly Ali Wazir over hate speech and desecration of Pakistani flag. Ali Wazir is infamous for making anti-Pakistan statements. However, some segments in Pakistani media and civil society always cover up Wazir’s anti-state remarks by terming them expression of free speech.
According to details, the case has been registered on the complaint of Charsadda SHO. MNA Ali Wazir is involved in the desecration of Pakistani flag, hate speech and provoked people against the national institutions in his speech at a public gathering, the First Information Report (FIR) reads. Section 120, 121 and 153 of the constitution has been included in FIR registered by SHO Charsadda police.
Talking to a private TV channel, Provincial Minister (KP) for Information Shaukat Yousafzai demanded National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to impose a ban on MNA Ali Wazir from attending NA proceedings.
Read more: Unmasking PTM: The enemy behind tribal areas’ underdevelopment
Action must be taken against Ali Wazir over anti-state speech and provoking people against institutions, he added.
Fawad Chaudhry, senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Federal Minister for Science and Technology, has urged the speaker NA to take notice of Wazir’s anti-Pakistan statements.
غیر ملکی طاقت سے پاکستان کے شہروں کو تباہ کرنے کا مطالببہ کرنے کا مطلب ہے کہ آپ پاکستان سے وفادار نہیں ہیں اورآپ اپنے حلف کی خلاف ورزی کے مرتکب ہوئے ہیں اگر PTM کے علی وزیر اپنے بیان پر معافی نہیں مانگتے تو اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی ان کے خلاف Art 63 کے تحت نااھلی کے ریفرنس کا آغاز کریں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 3, 2020
Ammar Masood, prominent journalist, also warned the PTM leadership that nobody will support them if they tend to become ‘ethno-centric’.
اپنے بنیادی جمہوری حقوق کے لیئے آواز اٹھائیں سب آپ کا ساتھ دیں گے۔ لیکن اگر اس جدوجہد کو لسانی ، صوبائی اور علاقائی رنگ دیں گے تو اپنی ہی جدوجہد کو نقصان پہنچائیں گے۔
نفرت اور تشدد کسی مسئلے کا حل نہیں ہو سکتے۔ https://t.co/KBHi4Z84n0— Ammar Masood (@ammarmasood3) March 3, 2020
The PTM have consistently held protests against the Pakistan Army and are allegedly funded by foreign agencies to further the agenda of riling up unrest in Pakistan.
NWTD incident. Innocent PTM supporters / workers need care. Only few are inciting and using them against state institutions for vested agenda. No one will be allowed to undo the gains of decades long national struggle & sacrifices especially of brave Pakistani tribals.
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) May 26, 2019
Leader of PTM, Mohsin Dawar has reportedly demanded Pakistan army to leave Waziristan. Speaking to a foreign media outlet, he said that he wanted immediate removal of Pakistan army from his area. Moreover, back in 2014, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that killed many innocent civilians and soldiers also demanded the same thing.
Read more: PTM’s Gulalai Ismail and India’s 5th Gen Warfare
These militants used to hold army troops hostage and then kill them. After years of continuous struggle and sacrifices by the armed forces, Pakistan was able to restore peace across the country. TTP was operating from tribal areas of Pakistan and its safe havens in Afghanistan but was mainly targeting the urban centers in Pakistan.
Mohsin Dawar, who attacked an army check-post in North Waziristan and martyred one soldier, openly threatened the armed forces to leave the tribal area.
After Dawar’s statement went viral, analysts shared their opinions and slammed the MNA for pursuing an anti-state agenda under the cover of rights movement. Dr. Moeed Pirzada of 92 News mocked Dawar and said:
Is it true that Mohsin Dawar has demanded withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan? He is definitely a very brave, courageous & principled man! Isn't he?
— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) May 29, 2019
Dawar’s demand was not strange for all those alleging PTM to be an extension of TTP and other anti-Pakistan forces e.g. NDS, RAW and CIA. Dr. Hassan Askari has recently noted that it is the global narrative to destabilize countries by using their internal fault lines like identity and religious cards.
In the case of Pakistan, TTP maintained that the tribal areas should be a no-go area for the state of Pakistan. But the army initiated an operation and cleared the area. Pakistan army has made it clear that the achievements gained in war on terror shall not be undone due to anyone’s pressure.
Read more: PTM MNAs instigated protestors to attack army check post: DC North Waziristan
Analysts believe that the state must deal with the PTM carefully. In a statement, Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Syed Amjad Shah expressed the view that any demands of an individual or a group which is within the Constitution must be fulfilled by the government. “But, a few members of PTM are inciting people for separation and are demonizing the state institutions through an empty rhetoric which comes in the ambit of treason,” he said, and called upon the government to take strict legal action against all such elements.
“It is high time that enemies of Pakistan, be they members of the Parliament, should be taken to task legally and set exemplary punishments under the law of the land,” he said.