Toronto, October 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen has accused Pakistan’s military of killings, enforced disappearances and plundering resources in the country’s Pashtun regions, urging members of the diaspora to work towards isolating Islamabad internationally.
“The state is shedding Pashtun and Afghan blood like water. It has plundered our resources and destroyed our homeland,” Pashteen said while virtually addressing an international conference organised by PTM Canada in Toronto.
He alleged that many Pashtuns continued to be held in what he described as the military’s “private prisons” and cited the continued imprisonment of PTM leaders Ali Wazir and Haji Samad.
Pashteen also dismissed Pakistan’s democratic system as a facade and questioned the military’s justification for its counter-terrorism operations.
“Look at its parliament: the military brings in whoever it wants and removes whoever it does not want. Keeping hopes alive in such a system was a waste of time. What kind of strange terrorism is this that does not exist in Punjab, while projects of terrorism are implemented only in Pashtunkhwa?” he asked.
He called on Pashtuns, Baloch, Sindhis and Kashmiris to unite against what he described as a “common enemy”.
Conference Seeks International Action
The conference, titled Unmasking Pakistan’s Atrocities, was attended by hundreds of people and adopted a declaration outlining several demands.
These included the establishment of an independent truth and reconciliation commission under United Nations auspices, disclosure of the whereabouts of missing persons, release of those allegedly detained unlawfully, lifting the ban on PTM, and greater local control over land and natural resources.
Chris Alexander, a former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan, also addressed the gathering. He accused Pakistan’s military leadership of seeking to dominate Afghanistan through proxies and terrorism.
“End the violence. That is the key to everything,” Alexander said.
Shinkai Karokhail, a former Afghan member of Parliament and former ambassador to Canada, alleged that Pakistan nurtures terrorism while also presenting itself as a victim of it. She said Afghans would take documented evidence of Pakistan’s alleged atrocities to international forums.
Founded in 2014, PTM has campaigned against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Pakistan. The movement was banned in October 2024 under the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act, according to the report.
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