PTM rally concludes in Karachi

PTM leaders Ali Wazeer and Mohsin Dawar have reached the venue

KARACHI: “Our first target is to bring former SSP Rao Anwar to justice for the extra-judicial murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud,” said Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Ahmed Pashteen on Sunday.

“Our second target will be brining to justice former Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan and former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. We will not spare anyone who has breached the Constitution,” Pashteen told a rally at Al Asif Square in Karachi.

Ehsan, who had turned himself in to the military in 2017, is currently in detention, while Musharraf is living in self-imposed exile.

“It was Musharraf who had plunged Pakistan into this war,” Pashteen said. “If he hadn’t sided [with the US] in the war, there would have been peace in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).”

“We will continue to uphold the rule of law and bring those who are against the Constitution to justice,” he assured a crowd that had been waiting for eight hours to hear him speak.



Pashteen said time had proven Rao Anwar to be a terrorist and Naqeebullah Mehsud a hero. “We vow to bring every tyrant in the court of law and charge them according to the Constitution,” he said as the crowd cheered him on.

Pashteen was allegedly detained in Bahawalpur and Hyderabad during his 40-hour-long road trip from Lahore to Karachi. “I arrived late, I have not slept in 60 hours but after seeing this peaceful and disciplined crowd, I am refreshed,” he said.

The 26-year-old claimed that many PTM supporters were detained in parts of Punjab and Sindh. He urged the crowd to pledge to take a stand and question those who detain people.

In his address, PTM leader Ali Wazir reiterated that they would fight peacefully against “every tyrant” in the country. “We will not let anyone steal our resources.”

Stressing that they were not ‘agents’ of enemy countries, another PTM leader Mohsin Dawar said the movement was fighting for rights. “Those who call us agents used to call Fatima Jinnah agent as well.”

The PTM had initially planned to hold the gathering at Jinnah Bagh, however, the venue was changed after authorities granted permission for the ground in Sohrab Goth.