Pak police arrest rights leader critical of military

A charismatic Pashtun rights leader who repeatedly accused the powerful military of abuse has been arrested in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, police said yesterday. Manzoor Pashteen, chief of the Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), appeared before a magistrate after being detained shortly after midnight, said police official Shiraz Khan. Khan said Pashteen would be transferred to another district where he is wanted on charges including sedition, hate speech, incitement against the state, and criminal conspiracy. The former veterinary student and his PTM have rattled the military since 2018 with calls to end alleged abuses by security forces targeting ethnic Pashtuns in the restive tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.