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Pashtun activist Fazal-ur-Rehman Afridi has accused Pakistan’s state and military of widespread human rights violations against ethnic minorities, including Pashtuns and Baloch.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Afridi alleged that enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and drone and helicopter attacks have become routine in Pashtun-majority areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He claimed that civilians, including children, have been killed in such attacks and urged the international community to pressure Pakistan to halt what he described as “gross human rights violations and atrocities”. Afridi further alleged that Pakistan’s military is sheltering and supporting militant organisations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, as well as in Afghanistan. Referring to reported statements by police officials in Bannu and Lakki Marwat, he stated that security forces were accused of bringing and sheltering militants in military cantonment areas. He also alleged that military personnel have operated in civilian areas in disguise, describing the practice as part of a campaign to create insecurity among local populations. Afridi went further by accusing the Pakistani army of functioning as a “terrorist army”. The activist also raised concerns over the arrests and alleged disappearances of leaders and activists associated with the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). He claimed that PTM leaders have been detained on what he called fabricated charges, while others have allegedly been forcibly disappeared. He also expressed concern over the safety of PTM leader Manzoor Ahmad Pashtin and called on Pakistani authorities to produce detained or missing activists and provide information about their condition and whereabouts. Afridi alleged that Pakistan’s security establishment was pursuing a broader strategy of destabilising Pashtun areas, displacing local populations and gaining control over mineral-rich territories. He further claimed that revenues from mineral extraction were being diverted into the pockets of senior military officials rather than benefiting the Pakistani treasury. (ANI)
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