LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani ethnic rights group drew over 8,000 people to a rally in Lahore on Sunday, despite pressure from security officials to call off the event focusing on human rights violations in areas bordering Afghanistan.
The leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), student activist Manzoor Pashteen, delivered an address criticizing the country’s powerful military and its actions in the majority ethnic Pashtun Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
“I urge professional soldiers not to follow the command of the generals and brigadiers. Refuse to obey their orders because they (generals) can get you killed like they did with people of Waziristan and other parts of the country,” Pashteen said.
The North and South Waziristan areas of FATA were the site of large military operations in 2009 and 2014 after the Pakistan Taliban took control of swathes of territory in the region.
Waziristan is still affected by media restrictions, limiting the ability of journalists to travel there, and activists say that has contributed to portrayal of the Pashtun population as wedded to backward tribal customs and maintaining close ties to militant groups.
On Saturday, five PTM members were taken from their hotel by Lahore police and told they did not have permission to hold a rally, organization leader Ali Wazir told Reuters.
“We have come to Lahore so we can share our pain and suffering with people,” Wazir said.
“No one here knows what is happening in FATA.”
Police confirmed five activists were picked up but did not give any reasons for their detention.
PTM emerged after the January killing by police of Pashtun youth Naqeebullah Mehsud in Karachi sparked nationwide condemnation and demonstrations attracting several thousand people.
The organization has drawn the ire of the country’s armed forces.
Pakistan’s army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa said at an April 12 meeting with dignitaries that “no anti-state agenda in the garb of engineered protests” will not be allowed to succeed, the military’s public relations department said in a statement.
He did not name PTM when making the comments.
At least two universities in Pakistan canceled talks related to Pashtun rights last week after receiving calls from security officials, faculties at both institutions said.
A faculty member at Lahore’s Punjab University was fired after being criticized for participating in an event attended by Pashteen and promoting left-leaning ideas with students, associate professor Ammar Ali Jan said.
The university has said Jan was removed after failing to complete employment paperwork, despite teaching there for over a semester.
Midway through the rally, sewage water was released onto the grounds of Lahore’s Mochi Gate where the protest was being held but participants remained undeterred.
Local government officials declined to comment on how the wastewater was released.
Pakistani rights group attracts 8,000 to rally despite state pressure
Pakistani rights group attracts 8,000 to rally despite state pressure
- PTM came into prominence after the killing of Pashtun youth Naqeebullah Mehsud by police in Karachi
- “I urge professional soldiers not to follow the command of the generals and brigadiers,” says rights group leader Manzoor Pashteen
Trump hopes North Carolina speech will bolster standing on US economy
- Trump works to turn around public opinion on economy
- Opinion polls show Americans have doubts
ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina: US President Donald Trump traveled to the “battleground” state of North Carolina on Friday, seeking to convince Americans that his handling of the economy is sound ahead of a midterm election year that could spell trouble for him and his ruling Republicans.
With prices increasing and unemployment up, Trump has his work cut out for him. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday showed just 33 percent of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy.
Trump is set to argue that the US economy is poised for a surge due to his policies and that any problems they are experiencing are the fault of the Democrats.
He contends that he has lowered the price of gasoline, imposed tariffs that are generating billions of dollars for the US Treasury and attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in investment pledges by foreign governments.
Republicans worry, however, that economic woes could jeopardize their chances in elections next November that will decide whether they will keep control of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the remaining two years of Trump’s term.
The speech is taking place at a 9 p.m. rally (0200 GMT Saturday) at the convention center in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The city is represented by a Democrat in the House, Don Davis, who faces a tough re-election fight in 2026 after the boundaries of his congressional district were redrawn.
North Carolina is considered a “battleground” state because its statewide elections are closely contested between Democrats and Republicans. But Trump won the state in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
The North Carolina event is a stop on the way to his oceanfront Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he plans to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The US president has repeatedly said that any economic pain Americans are experiencing should be blamed on policies he inherited from his predecessor, Democratic President Joe Biden.
“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in a grievance-filled speech on Wednesday night that he delivered in a jarringly rapid-fire pace. Democrats have argued that Trump himself has bungled the economy, the central issue he campaigned on last year.
rump got some early holiday cheer on Thursday from the Consumer Price Index report for November. It said housing costs rose by the smallest margin in four years.
Food costs rose by the least since February. Egg prices — a subject Trump raises regularly — fell for a second month, and by the most in 20 months. The report nonetheless showed that other prices, like beef and electricity, soared.
Overall, prices rose 2.7 percent over the year prior. Asked what his message will be in North Carolina, Trump said it would be similar to his last two events, a prime-time address on Wednesday night and a visit to Pennsylvania last week.
“We’ve had tremendous success. We inherited a mess, and part of what we inherited was the worst inflation in 48 years,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. “And now we’re bringing those prices down. I’ll be talking about that.”
