Ali Wazir, a prominent leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, was arrested last night by police in Islamabad, Pakistan.
According to Tarz Press, a video circulating on social media shows Ali Wazir being taken into custody by police in Islamabad. In the video, Ali Wazir can be heard speaking in Urdu, accusing the police of deliberately causing an accident and forcibly detaining him. Before he can finish his statement, the police cut him off and turn off the camera."Yes, yes. They deliberately caused an accident with us. We brought him to the hospital. We are here, and we were there too. It's not what it looks like. The police are forcibly taking us. They are being unjust with us, and the police..."
Fazal Khan Advocate, a spokesperson and leadership member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, told Tarz Press that Ali Wazir was taken away by the police, and no further information is available. According to Fazal Khan, Ali Wazir's arrest was part of a planned conspiracy. He described the incident as follows: "Today, Ali Wazir was sitting in his car in the Zero Point area of Islamabad when two motorcycles collided with each other and then with Ali Wazir's car. It is unclear what their plan was. In any case, three unknown individuals were on the motorcycles, which did not have number plates. One of them got injured, and the others fled. Ali Wazir helped the injured person and took him to PIMS Hospital in Islamabad. Shortly after, the Islamabad police arrived, arrested Ali Wazir, and took him to Secretariat Police Station."
Following Ali Wazir's arrest, observers on social media commented that this action was a dramatic attempt by Islamabad to sabotage the grand Jirga planned by Manzoor Pashteen on October 11. Manzoor Pashteen stated that the Jirga would determine the path for Pashtuns to secure their rights in Pakistan. He organized the Jirga following the death of Hazrat Mir, famously known as "Gilaman Wazir," a central member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, who was injured in a complex incident in Islamabad and later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
