Pashtuns pay tribute to Kharqamar martyrs on first anniversary; attack 'killer' Pak Army

Central leaders of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) including Member of National Assembly Mohsin Javed Dawar paid tribute to the Kharqamar martyrs on Tuesday amid the Coronavirus lockdown. The leaders visited the graves of the martyred to mark the first anniversary of the barbaric incident in which 14 peaceful Pashtun protesters were killed by the Pakistan army.

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The Kharqamar incident was condemned by many Pashtun human rights and political activists on social media.

Mir Kalam Wazir, Member of Provincial Assembly, North Waziristan in his tweet said, "Due to crisis of COVID-19, we suspended the execution of grand gathering for Khar Qamar massacres. However, along with MNA @mjdawar and many other comrades, we laid wreath over the cemetery of Khar Qamar's martyred and shared the grieves of their family."

Another human rights activist Ihtesham Afghan said: "The whole state is responsible for #KharQamar incident. Pakistani media also played the role of a killer. The judiciary also remained silent on this issue, which has made our hearts broken."

"A year after Kharqamar massacre, there is still no accountability over the alleged state-sanctioned killing of innocent Pashtuns, many belonging to PTM, SAATH Forum,(South Asians Against Terrorism and Human Rights), said in a statement.

The forum demanded that an independent commission be set up to investigate this massacre and the cover-up. It further added that the Kharqamar massacre happened just a few weeks after a press conference by the then Director-General of military's media wing ISPR, General Asif Ghafoor, who threatened the PTM with dire consequences in this media talk.

The Kharqamar massacre movement has gained support from neighbouring country Afghanistan, which has a large Pashtun population. 

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Kharqamar incident

Last year on May 26, PTM activists were holding protests near Kharqamar check post in the Datta Khel Subdivision of North Waziristan, when the military fired upon the gathering and killed over a dozen protesters. Several PTM activists including the Members of National Assembly (MNAs) Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar were arrested by the security forces after the incident and the curfew was imposed in the area.

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(With agency inputs)