Pakistan detains PTM activist over speech promoting ‘hatred’

The Pakistani authorities have arrested a British citizen of Pakistani (Pashtun) origin on Saturday night over a speech in London during a protest of Pashtun Protection (Tahafuz) Movement (PTM).  

‘Yousuf Ali Khan who has lived in the UK for the past 20 years had arrived in Pakistan for the funeral of a loved one,’ BBC’s Secunder Kermani reported.

He is the head of PTM UK Branch and has been actively campaigning for the right of Pashtun people in Pakistan.

 According to BBC, ‘legal documents showed Yousuf Ali Khan is accused of inciting “hate” and “violence” in his December 2019 speech.’

His friend and PTM colleagues, however, argue that his arrest is to suppress the opposition politics in Pakistan and muzzle the voices of Pashtun people around the world.

Yousuf Ali Khan’s brother while talking to BBC said that large numbers of Police raided their family house Monday night in Sawabi Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and arrested his brother.

The organisation is struggling for the rights of Pashtun people within the Pakistani framework and is believed to be loyal to the Pakistani constitution.

It also demands for a thorough and unbiased investigation into the human rights violations by Pakistan’s military.

The PTM blames the Pakistani Army of committing human rights violations in Tribal areas in the name of operations against religious extremists.

Mr Khan’s lawyer has rejected the allegations.

The British Foreign Office has told the BBC it is in contact with local authorities over the detention of a British national in Pakistan.