Pakistan: Pashtun group attacks security post, wounding 5

Pakistan: Pashtun group attacks security post, wounding 5
In this May 13, 2018 file photo, Ali Wazir (L) and Mohsin Dawar, leaders of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), walk at the venue of a rally in Karachi, Pakistan. (Reuters)
Updated 26 May 2019 18:10
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Pakistan: Pashtun group attacks security post, wounding 5

Pakistan: Pashtun group attacks security post, wounding 5
  • Lawmaker Ali Wazir and eight others arrested
  • Mohsin Dawar says the group was protesting against arrests of innocent people

PESHAWAR: Pakistani military says supporters of a local, minority Pashtun group attacked a security post in the country’s northwest near the Afghan border, wounding five soldiers.
It says three of the attackers were killed and 10 were wounded.
Sunday’s statement says the group is led by lawmakers Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar whose followers wanted to pressure authorities to release terror suspects arrested recently in North Waziristan. It said Wazir and eight others were also arrested.
The two lawmakers represent a Pashtun rights group that has denounced what it calls the military’s excessive force against tribesmen in military operations in the region.
However, Dawar, one of the lawmakers, claims their convoy was attacked by security forces while traveling to a protest in North Waziristan against arresting innocent people.