KHYBER: In clear defiance of federal government’s order to declare Pakistan Tahaffuz Movement a proscribed organisation, diehard activists of the organisation assembled at the venue of their three-day jirga in Jamrud on Sunday evening.

They told Dawn that around 1,000 to 1,200 PTM activists arrived at the venue soon after the federal government’s declaration with most of their top leaders amongst them, except Manzoor Pashteen.

They said that they would now ‘hold their ground’ till October 11 when the three days event would begin with thousands of delegates reaching the jirga venue in separate processions from across the province and Balochistan.

The PTM activists said that initially they had planned after the September 2 police action against them that they would leave the venue deserted in the evening while marking a symbolic presence at daytime to avoid ‘police vandalism’ against them.

In multiple actions early on Wednesday last and later in the afternoon the same day, Peshawar and Khyber police resorted to intense tear gas shelling and firing in the air to dislodge the PTM activists from the ‘scene’ and later torched the entire tent material installed for the October 11-13 event.

Changing their strategy to take the police head-on, the PTM leadership also decided to lodge their main leaders and enthusiastic supporters at hujras in different parts of Jamrud to avoid arrests.

With the action from Peshawar police still a ‘mystery’ as the provincial government refused to own the raids, officials in Khyber conceded that they were asked for support and assistance by the high-ups in Peshawar for the Wednesday action.

Sources in Jamrud said that Khyber police were given instructions about starting a process of profiling PTM workers and sympathisers in the district while also initiating a crackdown on them once their whereabouts were established.

Police in Shah Kas training centre could not be approached for their comments about the new instructions to them.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2024