Within weeks what began as a small group of about two dozen had morphed into a popular movement. One political analyst was told his weekly column, in which he urged dialogue with Pashteen's movement, could not be published because the newspaper was "under pressure" to remove it. "The latest subject to be placed off limits is the Pashtun (Protection) Movement, which has been organizing protests in defense of Pakistan's Pashtun minority and denouncing human rights violations by the military targeting Pashtuns." Mosharraf Zaidi, whose column was pulled by a local English language newspaper, said the supporters of Pashteen's movement are mostly young and educated. Zaidi said he had hoped Pashteen's movement "would prompt an honest discussion about our (decades-old) relationship with violent extremism."

Source: ABC News April 28, 2018 06:11 UTC