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| Ali Wazir. Member of the National Assembly lost 16 family members to Taliban Terrorists |
On May 26, 2019 a peaceful procession in the Waziristan region led by Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, both Members of National Assembly (MNAs), was fired upon by army men, leaving at least 13 dead and over forty injured.
Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were elected as Members of the National Assembly (MNA) in the general elections held in 2018. They are also leaders of the Pashtun Defence Movement/Pashtun Tahfuz Movement (PTM), a mass social movement that emerged two years ago.
The PTM demands an end to military operations in the region bordering Afghanistan. This region is inhabited by ethnic Pashtuns. Their demands have brought them in conflict with the country’s powerful military. For the last two months, the military spokesperson has been passing threats to the PTM. Besides, the media were publicly advised by the military not to give any coverage to the PTM.
These threats and media black out translated into a tragic reality on May 26. On the one hand, the peaceful procession was fired upon. On the other, media unanimously reported that the PTM activists led by Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar attacked a military check post and ensuing violence claimed the lives of three protestors besides injuring three soldiers.
Ironically, video footages ---filmed through mobile phones---have emerged. These videos clearly show that Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were fired upon from behind. While people were falling to bullets, Ali Wazir, instead of running to safety, went back to help an injured comrade. As he approached his comrade, near the checkpost, he was arrested by the military.
The next day, he was produced before the Anti-Terrorism-Court and remanded for eight days. Meantime, the entire opposition in the Parliament has demanded his release. He suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
There have been unconfirmed allegations of torture as well. In the event, even if he is released for now, his life remains threatened. Like the rest of the PTM leadership, he has been subjected to a vicious hate propaganda. He is being portrayed by the mainstream media and the military as a foreign agent, a traitor, and a terrorist.
Fact of the matter is, the PTM staunchly believes in non-violence while 16 members of Ali Wazir’s family, including his siblings and father, were assassinated by the Taliban owing to his family’s opposition to the Taliban. He emerged as a symbol of anti-Taliban struggle before the rise of the PTM.
We urge you to sign this petition for these democratic demands:
(1) The urgent release of Ali Wazir and his PTM comrades
(2) An end to vilification campaign against the PTM leadership
(3) Withdrawal of fake police cases under anti terrorist laws against Ali Wazir and the PTM members.
First signatures:
Serge Aberdam, historian, France
Gilbert Achcar, Professor, SOAS University of London, Britain
Badrul Alam, Communist Party of Bangladesh-ML(CPBML), Bangladesh
Aabida Ali, Awami Workers Party, Pakistan
Karamat Ali, Secretary, National Labour Council, Pakistan
Victor Amarilla, Socialist Convergence (La Verdad), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Alia Amirali, Awami Workers Party, Pakistan
Lionel Aymard, militant associatif, syndical et politique, France
Olivier Besancenot, spokesperson, NPA, France
Anthony Bobo, NPA, France
Pascal Boissel, President of the Union syndicale de la psychiatrie, France
Peter Boyle, Socialist Alliance, Australia
Orallo Carlos, Socialist Workers Party, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Jose Castillo, National Directorate of the Socialist Left, Argentina
Fathi Chamkhi, Popular Front, Member of the Parliament, Tunisia
Gérard Chaouat, Emeritus Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, France
Terry Conway, Socialist Resistance, Britain
Philippe Corcuff, universitaire, Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Lyon, France
Randolf S. David, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of the Philippines
Alex De Jong, Co-Director IIRE Amsterdam
Sushovan Dhar, Radical Socialist, India
Felicity Dowling, National Secretary, Left Unity, Britain
Bernard Dreano, cofounder of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly international network
Penelope Duggan, Editor International Viewpoint
Lujan Echeverria, Professional Center for Human Rights, Argentina
Patrick Farbiaz, Ecologie Sociale, France
Tiago Ferreira, sociologist, Spain
Elea Foster, Fourth Internationalist, Greece
Pascal Franchet, President, CADTM-France
Franck Gaudichaud, Lecturer in Grenoble Alpes University, France
Sébastien Guex, Professor, Lausanne University, Switzerland
Laurent Gutierrez, professeur, member of the PCF and la Riposte, France
Anne Gutierrez-Vigreux, Conseillère Municipale de Longvic, France
Bouhbib Hamid, University Teacher, Algeria
Alex Hinno, Member of the Comunitat Palestina de Catalunya, Catalonia
Helena Hirata, Emeritus Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
Robert Hirsch, trade-unionist (retired), member of Ensemble !, France
Norbert Holcblat, economist, France
Maral Jefroudi, Co-Director IIRE Amsterdam
Imran Kamyana, Editor of the online Urdu magazine Roznama Jeddojehad
Harsh Kapoor, founder and editor South Asia Citizens Web (SACW), India
Sheema Kermani, Artist, Pakistan
Dr Lal Khan, editor Asian Marxist Review, Pakistan
Pierre Khalfa, Member of the Copernic Fondation and of the Scientic Council of Attac, France
Stathis Kouvélakis, Reader in Political Theory, King’s College, Britain
Carlos Lordkioanidse, Former detainee disappeared, Argentina
Michael Löwy, Emeritus Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, France
Carlos Loza, Survivor of the clandestine detention center ESMA (School of Mechanics of the Navy), Argentina
Amna Mawaz Khan, Awami Workers Party, Pakistan
Jeff Mackler, Socialist Action, USA
Christian Mahieux, International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles
Jan Malewski, editor Inprecor
Gustave Massiah, Cedetim, France
Gippò Mukendi Ngandu, Sinistra Anticapitalista, Italia
Diego Z. Neri, editor, Bandiera Rossa website, Italy
Olivier Neveux, University Professor, ENS de Lyon, France
Pablo Odriozola, Survivor of the clandestine detention center “Azopardo”, Argentina
Victor Ottoboni, Secretary of minutes and press of the Union of Tire Workers of Argentina
Ugo Palheta, sociologue, Assistant professor, Lille University, and director of the online magazine Contretemps, France
Jaime Pastor, Professor, Political Sciences (Spanish State) and editor of the magazine Viento Sur
Patrice Perret, responsable syndical retraité, France
Joël Pottier, NPA, France
Christine Poupin, spokesperson, NPA, France
François Preneau, trade-unionist, member of Ensemble !, France
Awais Qarni, Central Organizer Revolutionary Students Front(RSF), Pakistan
Asia Rahman, Politician for Vänsterpartiet (Left Party), Sweden
Victor Rodrigues, PCF, France
Xavier Rousselin, Ingénieur Divisionnaire de l’Agriculture et de l’Environnement, France
Dr Taimur Rehman, General Secretary, Pakistan Mazdoor Kissan Party, Pakistan
Hans-Peter Renk (solidaritéS), conseiller général (Le Locle), Switzerland
Pierre Rousset, ESSF, France
Olivier Salles, Ensemble !, France
Catherine Samary, economist, France
Edgard Sánchez, PRT (Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores), México
Patrick Saurin, member CADTM-France
Sukla Sen, Peace Activist, India
Soren Sondergaard, Member of the Parliament, Denmark
Dr. Farooq Sulehria, Assistant Professor, Beaconhouse National University Lahore, Pakistan
Arlette Tardy, NPA, France
Mansoor Tareen, organizer of PTM-Sweden
Farooq Tariq, spokesperson, Awami Workers Party, Pakistan
Juan Tortosa, solidaritéS, Switzerland
Eric Toussaint, CADTM International Spokesperson
Josette Trat, sociologue, France
Anwar Ul Haq, economist, Pakistan
Zafar Ullah, Member of Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign, Islambad, Pakistan
Miguel Urbán Crespo, Member of the European Parliament, Spanish State
Roseline Vachetta, former Member of the European Parliament, France
Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor of International Relations and Global Politics, former Head of the Department of Political Science and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi, India
Christian Varin, Fourth International
Marie-Christine Vergiat, Member of the European Parliament, European Left, France
Pedro Vianna, poète, enseignant au mastère Mobilité humaine Universitat de Valencia (Espagne), ancien juge assesseur à la Cour nationale du droit d’asile, France
Nora Zaldua, Massacre Commission of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Susana Zaldua, Massacre Commission of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Philipp Zehmisch, Laal Hartal, Lahore, Pakistan
Muhammad Zubair, Member Fairness Committee, Magna international, Toronto, Canada
and hundreds of other signatures...
To sign, fill the ESSF “contact” form:
Put your name, “title” (function, organisation) and country, mentioning “solidarity withAli Wazir”.
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?page=contact
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