NEW DELHI – As the protest of Pashtuns against murder of Naqeebullah Mehsudcontinue for at least past two weeks, President Ashraf Ghani on Friday saidhe supports the protest and that he hopes it will succeed in uprootingterrorism from the region.
“Just like the Lawyers’ Community in Pakistan succeeded in their movement,I hope #PashtunLongMarch would also succeed in uprooting and eradicatingterrorism from their region,” Ghani tweeted.
“I fully support the historical #PashtunLongMarch in Pakistan. The mainpurpose of which is to mobilize citizens against fundamentalism andterrorism in the region,” Ghani tweeted.
“The historical importance of this march traces back to the great proponentof non-violence, Bacha Khan, whose philosophy was based on the non-violentideology,” he added.
He called on media outlets to help the protest in voicing their grievancesand demands and presenting their true image to the world.
“After the tragedies of Kabul, I had remarked that Afghans and the peopleof this region should align against terrorism. I consider the#PashtunLongMarch a response to those remarks and a wake-up call againstfundamentalism,” he tweeted.
He said the protest is a positive initiative against fundamentalism “thatmorally binds on each one of us to support them”.
Following the murder of a young shopkeeper in a gunfight with Karachipolice last month, thousands of Pashtuns, living in the tribal belt,rallied against the move, seeking justice and an end to the oppressionagainst them.
The rally started more than 10 days ago. Since then, they have beenobserving a sit-in protest.
During the past week, many emotional speakers talked about their grievancesand urged the Pakistani government to act on their demands.
Naqeebullah Mehsud was accused of having links with terrorist groups.Later, an investigation found no evidence against him.
This caused the massive protests which started from the North Waziristanand continued through to Islamabad.
The protest is rarely reported by the Urdu language Pakistani media.
According an article in The Diplomat, the key demands of the protestors isto Swift justice for Naqeebullah Mehsud as well as arresting and punishingthe police officer who allegedly kidnapped and killed him;