A notification issued by the federal government on Sunday said the PTM was “engaged in certain activities which are prejudicial to the peace and security of the country”.
Pashtuns are a distinct ethnic group with their own Pashto language, living mostly in Pakistan and Afghanistan but divided by the colonial-drawn Durand Line that splits the two countries.
The movement, founded in 2014, advocates for the rights of ethnic Pashtuns affected by Pakistan’s war against the Taliban and its local affiliate, Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP.
PTM is known for its strident criticism of Pakistan’s powerful military for its role in alleged enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of rights activists and ethnic leaders.
PTM, which is not a political party, has at its peak pulled tens of thousands of people to largely peaceful rallies demanding better protection from the state. It said more than 200 activists have been arrested in recent days in advance of a jirga, or a council of elders, planned for later this week.
At the weekend, the capital was on lockdown with entry and exit points blocked and mobile phone services cut as Khan supporters attempted to protest. The demonstrations came weeks after the government introduced a new protest law that limits gatherings.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) asked for the withdrawal of the ban on the PTM.
“HRCP condemns the government’s decision to proscribe the PTM, a rights-based movement that has never resorted to violence and always used the framework of the Constitution to advocate its cause,” it said in a post on X.
“This extreme decision was neither transparent nor warranted.
Pakistan has long grappled with violence in the border areas near Afghanistan, with attacks on the rise since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021
The country is just days away from hosting several heads of government for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, a bloc established by Russia and China to deepen ties with Central Asian states.
Amnesty International (AI) has urged the Pakistani government to repeal a newly passed law that imposed restrictions on holding public gatherings in the federal capital Islamabad last week.
The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill 2024 was tabled in the Senate on Sep. 2 and was passed by the same upper house of parliament on Sep. 5.
The bill was then rushed through the National Assembly, or lower house, on Sep. 6 amid the opposition’s outcry and was signed into effect by the President Asif Zardari on Sep. 8.
“The Pakistan government must immediately repeal the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act and amend other laws that allow for blanket bans on assemblies and impose restrictive requirements which are in flagrant violation of the country’s international human rights obligations,” AI’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, Babu Ram Pant, said in a statement.
Any restrictions must strictly comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, according to the statement that was released Monday.
The rights watchdog feared the new law sets a “dangerous precedent” that could be replicated by provincial governments across the country.
“The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024 is yet another attack on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Pakistan which has a long history of enacting draconian legislation to criminalize peaceful protest and suppress the expression of dissent,” Pant said.
After the law came into effect, the Islamabad police reportedly arrested at least 13 leaders and lawmakers belonging to opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party from the parliament late Monday.
“The military backed, authoritarian, illegitimate regime is now illegally arresting and abducting PTI’s elected members of Parliament, from the premises of the Parliament itself,” PTI posted on the social media platform X.
According to the police, the leaders from the party of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan were arrested on charges of violating the new law during a party rally held in Islamabad on Sunday.
Under the newly passed law, the district magistrate shall have the authority to impose a ban on public gatherings under specific circumstances. The act also empowers the magistrate to specify timings for rallies and designate specific areas.
The law has set three-year jail terms for participants of “illegal” assemblies, with ten-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
The Islamabad administration had allowed the PTI to hold Sunday’s rally from 4pm till 7pm but the gathering went on until nearly 11pm.
