The Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government on Sunday issued a notification banning the Manzoor Pashteen-led Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
“The federal government having reasons to believe that the PTM is engaged in certain activities prejudicial to peace and security of the country […] is pleased to list the PTM in the First Schedule as a proscribed organisation,” read the notification issued by the Ministry of Interior.
The ban has been placed under Section 11B of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
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The development comes as the country is facing a rather tumultuous political and security situation amid ongoing protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Islamabad as well as a surge in terrorist attacks in parts of the country.
A day earlier, a Pakistan Army lieutenant colonel was among six soldiers who embraced martyrdom during a gun battle with terrorists in North Waziristan’s Spinwam area.
The attack came as the country has witnessed a surge in terror incidents with total fatalities from three-quarters of the ongoing year surpassing the total fatalities recorded for the entire 2023 as reflected in the data gathered by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
