Protests and Conflict: Pakistani Police Clash with Pashtun Advocates

Violent clashes erupted between Pakistani police and supporters of the Pashtun Protection Movement after a government ban on the group. At least three people died and several were injured as officers used tear gas and batons to disperse protesters in Jamrud. The group denies links to the Pakistani Taliban.

At least three individuals were killed in violent clashes on Wednesday between Pakistani police and activists from the Pashtun ethnic minority rights group, a confrontation driven by a controversial government ban on the organization. Local officials confirmed that the police used tear gas and batons to disperse hundreds of protesters in Jamrud, near Peshawar. A doctor from a main local hospital, Roohul Ameen, reported receiving three bodies and treating about a dozen injured protesters.

Videos circulating on social media depicted police firing shots into the air, releasing tear gas, and wielding batons as protesters retaliated with stones. The violence followed the government's ban on the Pashtun Protection Movement, accusing it of supporting the Pakistani Taliban. The group, however, refutes this, asserting it was established in 2014 in response to military abuses against Pashtuns. The government and military counter these allegations, maintaining that their operations are solely against insurgents. The Movement aims to pressure the military to depart from former tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Manzoor Pashteen, the leader of the Pashtun Protection Movement, stated they would defy the government ban and assemble peacefully in Regi. Advocacy group Amnesty International has also called on Pakistan to reverse the ban, criticizing it as a misuse of terror-related legislation and denouncing enforced disappearances and media restrictions on protest coverage.

(With inputs from agencies.)