Two implications can be constructed from the military chief’s depiction of PTM in his speech. Firstly, mainstream media and the political leadership, who remained silent for days, were permitted to speak about PTM but in line with his portrayal. Secondly, his speech revealed the dual face of Pakistan Army who on the one hand viewed PTM as a threat to ...

The upsurge of the youth and ordinary Pashtuns mainly from the FTA in recent weeks has been defying all odds till now. It has stirred Pakistan’s society in a relative inertia and has sent a fresh breeze of hope, encouragement and inspiration to struggle against all odds for the youth across the country. In ordinary times the politics, values, morality, ...

THE passage of the Extension of Jurisdiction to Fata Bill, 2017, extending the superior courts’ jurisdiction to Fata, is a measure to free the tribal population from a colonial past, besides being the first practical step to introduce a modern criminal justice system in the area. But without judicial mechanisms and a functional lower judiciary, modern law enforcement may not ...

PTM, a quest for law Amend the law; adapt it to the needs of the day, or repeal it altogether have been some of the objectives of the social and political movements surfaced throughout the history. However, it indeed sounds strange to know about a social movement which demands a government to implement its law. The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) ...

Pashtun Tahfuz Movement (PTM) staged a sit-in in Islamabad for more than a week under the young leadership of Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen. Since the spontaneous birth of this movement till now, mainstream media has adopted three manipulative stances to demean the worth of the PTM and its cause.  The first strategy was to not impart proper coverage to PTM sit-in ...

It is costlier in Pakistan to challenge the tentacles of overdeveloped state institutes. Very few beings in Pakistan take dare to question the notorious role of state institutes in selling out the brand of religion and patriotism for exploitation. One of these beings, Manzur Pashteen a bearded man of twenties is now on the vanguard of war-weary Pashtuns demanding justice. ...

From steps of Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in Aug 1963, Martin Luther king Jr. made a historical speech in front of 250000 people which is still being remembered under the title “I have a dream”. When prompted by Mahalia Jackson’s cry; “tell them about the dream, Martin!” he presented his dream of liberty and equality in these words; “I ...

“Every man’s hand is against the other, and all are against the stranger” were the words of Winston Churchill that portrayed the symphony of tribal life in FATA and Pakhtunkhwa. But the Tribal history, sometimes turns on a dime, and presents itself in such a way where every man’s hand is with other and all chants a single slogan. Every ...

The celebrated anti-colonial leader and writer, Frants Fanon in his essay,  The Pitfalls of National Consciousness holds that during the anti-colonial resistance all the masses actively participate and make sacrifices for the cause, but once the formal independence is declared, the fruits of independence are not evenly distributed and never reach to the common masses. The post-independence political scenario of ...

Protests in Pakistan’s tribal areas signal the rise of a younger, more educated, and technologically savvy generation. The protests, mostly by youth, in northwestern Pakistan since early February are a clear and visible indication of decades-old resentment among locals against a system based on repression, injustice, suppression of free speech, and widespread corruption in the country’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas ...