ISAS South Asia Scan

Since 2018, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (Pashtun Protection Movement) [PTM] has organised several rallies, marches and dharnas (sit-ins) to protest against what it described as military oppression and official discrimination against the Pashtuns in Pakistan. There have also been longstanding demands on improving their socio-political position as well as the various forms of regulation and governance implemented in Pashtun territories.
 
This South Asia Scan examines the factors that led to the marginalisation of sections of the Pashtun community and the recent re-emergence of Pashtun political mobilisation. It also surveys opposition amongst some sections of the Pashtun community to being part of Pakistan in 1947 and the subsequent emergence of demands for a separate Pashtunistan. It then traces the rise of the PTM and draws attention to key aspects of the movement and its potential impact on domestic politics in Pakistan.