Peshawar, February 5 — The Peshawar High Court has upheld the federal government’s 2024 decision to proscribe the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) and several of its leaders, including chief Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, ANI reported.
A two-judge bench, Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Khurshid Iqbal, issued a brief order dismissing two petitions that challenged the listing of PTM under the Anti-Terrorism Act. The court had reserved a detailed judgment on January 21 and said it will publish full reasons later.
One petition, filed jointly by Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen and nine other leaders, asked the court to declare illegal the proscription under Section 11B and the leaders’ placement under Section 11-EE, and to remove PTM from the First Schedule and their names from the Fourth Schedule. The petitioners contended that the 2014 amendments to Sections 11-B and 11-EE permit proscription without a fair hearing or due process, thereby violating Article 10-A of the Constitution. They also urged that Section 11-D — the provision for placing organisations under observation — be treated as a mandatory step before any proscription.
A separate petition by PTM member Masoom Shah specifically challenged the Interior Ministry’s October 6, 2024 notification that declared the movement proscribed. That notification preceded the Pashtun National Jirga convened in Jamrud, Khyber, from October 11–13, 2024.
During hearings, Additional Attorney General Sanaullah argued the petitions were not maintainable and pointed to statutory remedies under Section 11-C of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, saying petitioners should first seek review by the Interior Ministry and then approach the high court if that review is refused. He told the court that PTM leaders had engaged in anti-state activity through hate speech, questioned why the movement had not registered with the Election Commission if it claimed political status, and submitted a sealed report containing material the government described as sensitive.
Counsel for the petitioners — including Attaullah Kundi, Jehanzeb Mehsud and Shah Mohammad — maintained that PTM is a civil, non-violent social movement formed in 2014 to advocate Pashtun rights, inspired by the non-violent legacy of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Lead lawyer Attaullah Kundi argued the 2014 amendments allow proscription without hearings, breaching principles of natural justice and Article 10-A, and contended that Sections 11B and 11EE are unconstitutional under Article 8. He also said the government issued the October 6 notification without revealing cabinet decisions or the grounds for proscription and that, as a social movement rather than a registered political party, PTM was not required to register with the Election Commission. The petitioners said repeated requests for the basis of the ban went unanswered.
This report is based on an ANI feed and was published as received.
