Pashtun unity march in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against re-emergence of terror groups

A massive number of protesters participated in a Pashtun unity march in Wana of South Waziristan on Sunday against the Pakistan Army, condemning the re-emergence of terror groups and long-pending demand to produce missing persons to courts.

'Pashtun long march' is a protest movement led by young Pashtuns from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where they have long been the targets of military operations, internal displacement, ethnic stereotyping and abductions by the security forces.

"Congratulations to all on the successful meeting of PMT Wana South Waziristan. Red salute to the spirit and struggle of the people raised fist. #Pashtun long march 2 Wana # long live resistance," Nargis Afsheen Khattak, an activist of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, tweeted.

The march was called by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) -- a political party -- which exposes the military offences and brings to the front the issues, which continue to plague the locals including enforced disappearances and fake encounters by the state.

"Let's see how many get arrested from #PashtunLongMarch2Wana under the new law that bans criticizing #Pakistan army. 1000s of peaceful protesters condemned the reemergence of terror groups & asked to produce missing persons to courts. As usual no coverage on media," a Twitter user said.

Demonstrators condemned the atrocities carried out by the Pakistani army -- gross human rights violations, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detentions of their leaders and workers living in Pakistan.

The protests are being carried out on a large scale. However, Pakistani media has been mum about the event. 

#PashtunLongMarch2Wana was seen trending on Pakistani Twitter.

"Thank you Wana. #PashtunLongMarch2Wana," said Mohsin Dawar, a member of the National Assembly from North Waziristan.