Ranchi: People of the Pashtun community are being persecuted relentlessly by the Government of Pakistan and its Army for the last several decades. But now they (people of the Pashtun community) have intensified their voice over their identity, said Indresh Kumar, National Patron of FANS (Forum for Awareness of National Security) and All India Executive Board member Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He was addressing an international webinar on “Identity Crisis of Waziristan” (Pashtun Tehfuz Movement) organized by FANS on Sunday. The webinar was addressed by several international and national speakers.
Speaking on the occasion Indresh said, people of this community are now ready for sacrifice under the Pashtun Tehfuz Movement (PTM). “Now this movement is gaining momentum in the entire border region,” he added.
Notably, this movement advocated for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns affected by the Pakistani government and its army, was formed in 2016 by a group of eight university students in the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan. All eight hailed from the neighbouring district of South Waziristan.
Now-a-days Pakistan is struggling with many internal movements and in view of this Pakistan is engaged in suppressing and crushing the Pashtuns movement. All the Pashtuns, from the border of Afghanistan to Kashmir, are being tortured in various ways, he said.
Exposing the misdeeds of Pakistan Indresh said, a lot of atrocities are being done on women and youth of this community; both the government and the army together are taking very barbaric action on the people of Pashtun society, he said adding, “their human rights are being crushed; the dignity of daughters-in-law is being wired. In Pakistan, the news of atrocities on the people of this community is now coming in front of the world.”
“Thousands of innocent Pashtun people lost their lives in the last several years. If we look at history, it is clear that the Pakistani government exploited and misused this community. They were always deceived by the Pakistani rulers and their rights are being crushed,” he said.
It is the duty of every Indian to support them, strengthen their voice so that they can be able to live independent lives by protecting their human rights, said Indresh adding, “It is also the need of the hour that the voice of the Pashtuns be elevated so that they can get rid of the brutality of Pakistanis.”
Now the impact of PTM is up to Karachi and there is a strong demand to build a universal, independent and autonomous Waziristan. It is to be known that at present, lakhs of Pak Army personnel are posted in 13 areas under Waziristan and continue to wreak havoc on the tribes living there, said Indresh.
Addressing the webinar Golok Bihari Rai the General Secretary of FANS said, Pashtun people are now raising their voice strongly for their rights; now begun to unite by tolerating the Pakistan Army’s oppression.
The new generation (youths) of Pashtuns is recognizing and understanding the values of their freedom and human rights very well, which means the entire Pashtun society stands together to protect its identity, he said adding “Under the leadership of Mansoor Pashtun they are now challenging the Pakistani army with the slogan ‘Yeh jo gundagardi hai, iske pichhe vardi hi’ (there is a uniform behind this hooliganism).”
Aurangzeb Khan, founder of PTM (Pashtun Tehfuz Movement), Europe said, India understands the pain and suffering of Pashtuns better. Most of the populations of Pashtuns are still live in the territory of Pakistan and its army has always tortured Pashtuns and other communities by patronizing the Taliban.
The Pak army continues to brutally act on the Pashtuns, but the voice of this community is now gaining momentum. It is very important to give a strong voice and moral support to this movement of Pashtuns for their freedom, he said.
The people of the Pashtun community have always suffered from terrorism sponsored by the Pak government. We demand that Pakistan abide by its original constitution so that the terror of the Pak Army can be curbed, he said.
Beside others, Pawan Bajaj President FANS, Dr Amar Choudhary, Registrar Ranchi University and Patron FANS, Dr Shahid Akhtar, Professor, Zamia Islamia University and Patron FANS, Rathin Bhadra, Treasurer, FANS, Prof. Dr Vijay Singh, Registrar Sarala Birla University, Prof. Dr Muntun Kumar Singh Director MBA and Commerce department VBU, Dr R M Jha, Sarala Birla University, Dr Raghvendra Srivastava Uttarakhand, Prof. Pranita Nand Srivastava, Champawat, Keshri Kumar, Director Admission, Ashis Sinha, chief Editor, The Researcher, Prof. Sonam Gupta, St. Xavier’s College, Prof. Bandana Rai, Mandar College, Prof. Vidya Jha, Women’s College Ranchi, Pratul Kumar, Cadila Pharma actively participated in the webinar while Dr Sandeep Kumar, Vice President FANS, Jharkhand and Associate Professor, Sarala Birla University coordinated the webinar on the behalf of FANS, Jharkhand Unit.
