Pashtun activist Manzoor Pashteen, critical of Pak army, denied entry to Balochistan

AASTHA SINGH and SONIYA AGRAWAL

Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) leader Manzoor Pashteen was denied entry to Balochistan Monday, The Express Tribune reports.

Pashteen is facing a 90-day ban on his entry into the province. The curb comes two days after the Sindh government carried out a similar ban on him. The Sindh government was forced to withdraw their ban after protests on social media.

According to media reports, the Pakistan government called him a threat to security, saying his entry was restricted due to his hate speech and incendiary statements against the state and its security institutions.

PTM, which has been agitating for several months over “forced disappearances” and other severe human rights violations, especially in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, has largely been ignored by the Pakistani media because of the crackdown by the pro-army Imran Khan government.

PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar tweeted, “CM Sindh has ordered withdrawal of expulsion order of Manzoor Pashteen. Thank you Chairman BBZ, CM Murad. It is not victory of one and defeat of other. It is triumph of sanity over insanity. All have shown maturity. Am confident that PTM also looks at it like this.”