On Sunday, the 3rd of June members of the Pashtun Tahaffuz movement (PTM) were attacked and killed by a group of armed men claiming to be the Taliban. At least three PTM supporters are reportedly dead with twenty or more injured. The attack was orchestrated by armed members of the Aman committee. The PTM supporters and members gathered in Wana and were caught in the execution of a fatal attack. Two of the injured members included Arif Wazir and Noor Ali Wazir; the cousin of PTM’s leader and a local journalist respectively. This attack was conducted after a threat made the day before. The members of the Aman committee had warned the supporters to dissociate themselves from the movement. However, they were attacked after refusal to respond to the threats. The injured members were immediately transported to Dera Ismail Khan for their medical treatment.
It was later confirmed by a journalist present on site that the attack was coordinated by Mullah Nazir and his supporters.
The wana attack on ali wazir of #PTM and other peaceful people is so shocking – have you lost your minds completely you brainless cowards. — salma jafar (@Chiltan) June 3, 2018
HRCP expresses its grave concern over the recent violence in #Wana. We counsel the administration to restore peace and take steps to avoid any further confrontation between #PTM supporters and the armed outfits reported to be operating as ‘Aman Committees – statement by the Chair — Marvi Sirmed (@marvisirmed) June 4, 2018
Local sources are blaming the Mullah Nazir Group, a Taliban faction with ties to the #Pakistan state, for the recent deadly attack on #PTM members in South Waziristan. If true, this would be a deeply troubling precedent, to say the very least. https://t.co/aaQcRFqslX — Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) June 4, 2018
The assailants joined the supporters in WANA as they had gathered for a protest. This evidently, led to a heated argument between members of the two parties. The conflict escalated and lead to an increased disturbance within the gathering. The Aman members opened fire on the crowd. As a response to this attack, the PTM supporters pelted stones at their attackers leaving two of them injured. However, their loss was far greater as three members died on site and twenty were left severely injured. Soon after, an emergency was declared in Wana.
Manzoor Pashteen took to social media to address the matter to his supporters. He altered the stats claiming that 10 members lost their lives as a result of this brutal Taliban attack.
This goes to show how difficult it is for the allegedly peaceful supporters of PTM to conduct their activities without being caught in a tussle with the Taliban or the government and establishment forces.