Islamabad: The Pakistani government on Sunday imposed a ban on an ethnic Pashtun political party, citing it as a threat to national security. The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) was active in the tribal region of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and often used to criticise the country's armed forces.
The interior ministry issued a notification declaring the Movement "unlawful" under Section 11B of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. It stated that the PTM poses a "significant danger" to public order and safety in the country.
Led by Manzoor Pashteen, the group had been active for some years, with its leadership blaming the armed forces for the problems faced by the tribal region along the Afghan border.
The PTM began as the Mahsud Tahafuz Movement in May 2014 when a group of students set it up as an initiative to remove landmines from Waziristan and other parts of the tribal region.
The group rose to prominence in January 2018 after rebranding itself as the PTM following the popularity it got for seeking justice for Naqeebullah Mehsud, a fellow Pashtun who was killed in Karachi by police allegedly in a fake encounter.
Pakistan authorities alleged that the group was playing in the hands of anti-state elements operating from within and abroad, especially in Afghanistan. However, the PTM always rejected such allegations.
The situation remained tense in Pakistan's capital on Sunday as jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party vowed to continue its protest against the government, a day after violent clashes between security forces and his supporters that left one policeman dead and several others injured.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party, in an overnight meeting, decided that the demonstration would go on until the release of Khan, who has been in jail since August last year.
The situation in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi, which witnessed the violent clashes on Saturday remained tense. However, there were no reports of violence in the twin cities on Sunday, indicating that the situation was improving gradually.
The mobile phone services have also been restored in the two cities which had been suspended on Friday. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who is also the protest leader, remained unknown.
(With inputs from agency)
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