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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Democracy |
|---|---|
| located: | Pakistan |
| editor: | Shadi Khan Saif |
Ali Wazir, the elected public representative from tribal belt, found himself in chains last week, paraded by armed policemen in Pakistan over charges of speaking against the army.
This is not the first time MP Wazir and his allies in the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) were brazenly reminded by the all-powerful army in Pakistan about the muscle and might they have been challenging. The lawmaker has rejected the sedition charges levelled against him in connection with a political rally, and insists upon his right to free speech.
The PTM is a rights-based association that has been rather fiercely calling for the de-mining of the tribal areas as well as demanding an end to the practices of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, cross-border terrorism and unlawful detentions by the security and spy agencies of the Pashtuns in Pakistan.
This grass-root movement that has gained momentum following the killing of a young ethnic Pashtun man by police in the biggest Karachi city has also been denied any media coverage in Pakistan due to the military’s pressure.
The irony, the prejudice here is that Wazir and his fellows in the PTM are made to pay by the deep state forces in Pakistan for challenging and projecting its policies as blatant violation of the democratic values, constitution and principles of good neighborhood in the region.
In clear paradox, the actions in line with the same policies when framed and projected as ‘pride and success’ by other politicians, mainly in the government, result in patronage and promotion. For instance, Minister Fawad Chaudhry earlier this year said that Pakistan was indeed involved in an armed attack on Indian security forces in Kashmir that left 40 people killed, and brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors on the brink of war.
But, since Chaudhry framed and presented his views in a way to further glorify the jingoism, he remains the favorite child of the establishment.
This combined with the continued blackout PTM faces in the local media only proves that democracy in Pakistan is simply absent, and the country is practically under rule by the deep state.
Image by Mil.ru/cc
