AFP, PESHAWAR, PakistanA charismatic Pashtun rights leader who has repeatedly accused the powerful military of abuse has been arrested in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, police said yesterday. Manzoor Pashteen, chief of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), appeared before a magistrate after being detained shortly after midnight, police official Shiraz Khan said. Khan said Pashteen would be transferred to another district where he is wanted on charges including sedition, hate speech, incitement against the state and criminal conspiracy. The army has carried out many operations in the region, and security across Pakistan has dramatically improved in recent years. “He has been charged in many cases including sedition,” Dawar said, who along with another PTM lawmaker was detained by authorities for months last year.
