12/07/2024
𝗥𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝗵𝘁𝘂𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻
For over seven decades, the Pashtun community in Pakistan has faced relentless violence and conflict, compounded by military operations, targeted killings, and extremist violence. The Pashtun belt, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), has been particularly affected, with significant humanitarian crises and human rights abuses.
Recent incidents, such as the attack on Gilaman Wazir, a Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) spokesperson, underscore the ongoing challenges and lack of accountability faced by Pashtuns advocating for their rights. Despite these hardships, these issues remain largely unnoticed internationally and underreported domestically.
It's crucial to bring international attention to these injustices to ensure the protection of human rights and promote justice for the Pashtun people. Let's stand together to support efforts addressing the grievances faced by the Pashtun community in Pakistan.
*DETAILLED MESSAGE*
Dear,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to bring attention to the ongoing issues faced by the Pashtun ethnic minority in Pakistan, specifically regarding the allegations of a Pashtun genocide and the suppression of freedom of speech.
For over seven decades, the Pashtun population has endured continuous war and conflict, exacerbated by military operations in Pashtun-majority areas, abductions, su***de blasts, targeted killings, and drone strikes. According to the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Foundation, 70% of those killed in the fight against Taliban militants across the country are Pashtuns. Since 2001, the US "war on terror" is estimated to have affected around 30 to 35 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) have raised significant concerns. These operations have often failed to ensure the traditional judicial system for civilians, leading to widespread insecurity. Criminal groups have emerged, engaging in theft, looting, and the killing of innocent people. Political deprivation and lack of participation in decision-making have deepened the sense of disenfranchisement among the tribal population, straining relations between the government and its people. A report by the BBC Urdu Service in April 2009 highlighted that the civilian government had lost authority over 24% of FATA, with some areas under Taliban control. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) noted a sharp increase in crimes such as robberies, ethnic riots, and honor killings during this period.
The economic impact of these military operations has been devastating, with a total loss of $45 billion recorded from September 2001 to 2009. Thousands of lives have been lost, both civilian and military, with casualties rising each year due to terrorist violence. Terrorist attacks alone have claimed over 35,000 lives, including 5,000 law enforcement personnel between 2001 and 2011. Furthermore, the assassination of prominent Pashtun leaders such as Tahir Dawar, a senior police officer and poet kidnapped from Islamabad and found dead in Afghanistan in November 2018, and Osman Kakar, a prominent Pashtun nationalist leader and senator from Balochistan who passed away in June 2021 under suspicious circumstances, underscores the gravity of the situation. These leaders were influential figures in the Pashtun community, and their deaths have had significant political and social impacts.
The killings of Pashtun tribal leaders in Pakistan, including Malik Qadir Khan in Kurram Agency (2009), Arif Wazir in South Waziristan (2020), Malik Mohammad Omar Khan Wazir in Khost, Afghanistan (2016), Malik Saleem Khan in North Waziristan (ongoing since 2004), and Malik Noor Jamal in a drone strike (2011), are part of a broader pattern where nearly 2,000 tribal elders have been killed since 2003 due to extremist violence and targeted assassinations. This violence has severely disrupted leadership and social structures within Pashtun tribal society. The death of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi in January 2018, killed by police under suspicious circumstances, also highlights issues of enforced disappearances, unlawful killings, and racial profiling faced by Pashtuns in Pakistan.
Furthermore, during the past 15 years, a majority of terrorist attacks and counterterrorism sweeps have been concentrated in the Pashtun heartland. Pashtuns make up a majority of the more than 80,000 people killed and maimed in the violence. Insecurity forced more than 6 million Pashtuns to flee their homes for months or years, highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis faced by this community.
The Pashtun belt of Pakistan has borne the brunt of relentless violence and instability for decades, exacerbated by the U.S.-led war on terror. Militants, including foreign elements from Afghanistan, exploited the porous border to establish strongholds in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), turning the region into a hub for terrorism. The local Pashtun population, marginalized and disillusioned by Islamabad's neglect and military operations perceived as insufficient or misdirected, faced widespread radicalization and displacement. Over 38,000 civilians and 3,000 security officials, predominantly Pashtun, lost their lives in the conflict, yet the security strategy often seemed more focused on geopolitical maneuvers and internal politics rather than protecting the vulnerable civilian population. The use of drones and military operations, while targeting militant leaders, also contributed to civilian casualties and heightened fear among Pashtun communities, reinforcing a cycle of violence and mistrust.
Pashtun communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) remain at significant risk due to ongoing Taliban insurgency and the repercussions of government responses. The devastating attack by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, which claimed 141 lives, including 132 children, underscored the extreme vulnerability of Pashtun civilians caught in a cycle of violence. In response, the government launched military offensives, notably 'Zarb-e-Azb' in North Waziristan from 2014 to 2016, displacing approximately a million people. Despite these efforts, Taliban attacks persist; for instance, in December 2017, the TTP targeted the Agriculture Training Institute in Peshawar, resulting in casualties. Economic development in KP faces challenges with a weak economy and concentrated industry in Peshawar. O***m production remains a significant economic factor despite past crackdown attempts. Class conflicts among Pashtun landlords and tenants further complicate socio-economic stability. Pashtuns, constituting a large segment of new arrivals in Karachi, face tensions with the locally dominant Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Pashtuns have also faced targeted actions by security forces, leading to raids, abductions, and displacement. The extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi in January 2018 sparked widespread Pashtun protests, including the Pashtun Long March in Islamabad, demanding justice and an end to discriminatory practices. Positive steps were taken with the 31st Constitutional Amendment in May 2018, abolishing the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Frontier Crimes Regulation, integrating tribal areas into KP and extending legal jurisdiction, with promises of significant development investment.
The issue of Pashtun rights and the violence against Pashtun leaders in Pakistan has tragically claimed over 80,000 lives, surpassing other global issues like the Palestine conflict in terms of casualties. However, this crisis remains largely unnoticed internationally and underreported domestically due to the minimal coverage by Pakistani media. Recently, in Islamabad, a city known for its stringent security measures, 17 assailants attacked Gilaman Wazir, a spokesperson for the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). He was hospitalized and succumbed to his injuries on July 10, 2024. Shockingly, this incident has received scant media attention, with Pakistani media focusing on trivial matters instead. There has been no investigation launched into the attack so far, echoing the lack of accountability seen in previous cases like the killings of Naqeebullah Mehsud, Tahir Dawar, and Usman Kakar. These leaders were targeted for advocating equal rights for Pashtuns, opposing military interference in politics, and seeking autonomy over resources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. They stood for freedom of speech and against the wars that have plagued Pashtun lands. The impunity enjoyed by figures like Rao Anwar, implicated in Naqeebullah's killing and reportedly close to Pakistan's current President Asif Ali Zardari, raises questions about justice and accountability within Pakistan's administration.
It is imperative that we bring international attention to these issues to ensure the protection of human rights and promote justice for the Pashtun people. I urge you to consider these points and support efforts to address the grievances of the Pashtun community in Pakistan.
Thank you for your attention to this pressing matter.
Sincerely,
FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights Human Rights United NationsHumanRights.Pro
