MPA Mir Kalam fears arrest for participating in peaceful protest

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly member Mir Kalam Wazir on Tuesday alleged that the law-enforcement officials were visiting the MPAs Hostel in Peshawar for his arrest.

He said that he may be arrested for participating in a peaceful protest in Peshawar for the release of Member National Assembly Ali Wazir.

Mir Kalam Wazir said that Dr Said Alam Mahsud and Rokhan Afghan had already been arrested for participating in the same protest rally.

He said that 60 other PTM activists had been booked in the first information report (FIR) for attending the rally.

The MPA said that FIRs had been registered against more than 5,000 persons for participating in peaceful protests in various cities of the country.

He said that 33 Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) activists and 300 unknown persons had been booked in an FIR registered in Chaman district of Balochistan.

Mir Kalam said that 35 PTM activists and 2,000 unknown persons had been booked in the FIR registered in Karachi.

The MPA said that currently over 10 PTM activists were in different jails for participating in peaceful protests. He added that PTM activist Maulana Ijaz had been picked up from Islamabad but his family and friends were unaware about his whereabouts.

Mir Kalam Wazir said that two PTM activists Hanif Pashteen and Faheem Wazir are in Bannu Jail.

He informed that Dr Said Alam Mahsud and Rokhan Afghan are lodged in Peshawar Central Prison while Owais Abdal is in the jail in Chaman.

He said six persons, including MNA Ali Wazir, Sher Ayub Wazir, Haji Muhammad Sher, Hassan Khan, Baseer Khan and Noorullah Tareen are being kept in Karachi Central Prison.

The MPA said that the government had planned the crackdown against PTM but the emergence of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had delayed it.

He said that PTM leadership believed that the state had now taken a decision to act against it.

Mir Kalam Wazir maintained that PTM was the only voice that was forcefully opposing the re-emergence of militancy in the region. He said the crackdown had been launched to silence the dissenting voices.

He argued that the demolition of Hindu saint’s shrine in Karak district was not an isolated incident but should be looked in a wider picture. “Such an incident in one of the peaceful areas in our region should not be ignored,” he added.

The MPA said that Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid’s warning about taking action within 72 hours had been implemented within hours as PTM activists were arrested within 10 hours after staging a peaceful protest in Peshawar.

Mir Kalam Wazir said that several PTM activists had restricted their movement out of fear of arrest.

However, he added, the rights movement leaders had no other option but to announce public rallies in the next few days against this illegal arrest spree across the country.

“We have no other option but to stage more protests to raise awareness against this injustice,” he added.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) provincial President Aimal Wali Khan condemned the arrest of Dr Said Alam Mahsud.

He said the country’s Constitution has given every citizen the right to free speech.

He opined that Dr Said Alam Mahsud was a sane and loud voice for highlighting the problems being faced by the Pakhtuns.

Aimal Wali argued that the intimidation and arrest of Pakhtuns was not in the interest of the country.

He said the government should take steps for ensuring the constitutional rights of Pakhtuns instead of harassing them.

The ANP leader said threatening, arresting and killing Pakhtuns could result in dangerous consequences, adding the government instead of eliminating terrorism was targeting peaceful Pakhtuns.

He said the country’s current problems were due to the institutions’ transgression from their constitutional limits and stressed the need for curtailing such unchecked powers.