State broadcaster Radio Pakistan in an unprecedented move on Tuesday claimed that MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir — who are also leaders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) — were “facilitating anti-Pakistan forces to destabilise Pakistan”.
In a brief, two-line news report published by the state broadcaster earlier today, both Wazir and Dawar — who are elected members of the National Assembly from the country’s tribal areas — were referred to simply as “PTM leaders”.
Highlighting first that both men had received “special protocol by the Afghanistan army” upon their arrival in Kabul where they were attending the oath-taking ceremony of Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, the report goes on to say that they were “fulfilling the vested agenda of India through Afghanistan”, without providing any details to back the startling claim.
However, the report was later removed from Radio Pakistan’s website and tweets by the state broadcaster’s official account were also deleted.
On Sunday, immigration officials at Islamabad International Airport had barred Wazir and Dawar from boarding a Kabul-bound flight as their names are on the Exit Control List (ECL).
Later in the day, however, the government announced that it had given one-time permission to the duo on the directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan to travel to Afghanistan to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
