MNA Mohsin Dawar Arrested From Quetta Airport

MNA Mohsin Dawar Arrested From Quetta Airport
Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) lawmaker from North Waziristan Mohsin Dawar has reportedly been arrested by Balochistan law enforcement agencies at Quetta airport, said a PTM leader.

Mohsin Dawar had flown into Quetta to offer condolences to the victims of the Chaman incident, who had died last month after security forces opened fire on them.

However, upon his arrival, the lawmaker was barred from leaving the airport by the airport security, who said Dawar was banned from entering Balochistan on account of law and order situation.

"I have just landed in Quetta and I have been stopped from leaving the airport by security agencies," said Dawar via a tweet. "I have been told that my entry to Balochistan has been barred again for 90 days. The state thinks it can break our resolve with such petty tactics. They can’t," said Dawar.

The tweet posted by Dawar also contained a picture of a notification that barred him and Ali Wazir from entering the southwestern province for 90 days under the Balochistan Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance 1960. The notice dated July 29 said the ban on lawmakers was imposed to deter any law and order situation.

In March this year, PTM lawmakers Dawar and Wazir were stopped from boarding a flight to Kabul by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), who said that their names are on the Exit Control List (ECL). The two PTM-linked lawmakers were traveling to Afghanistan for President Ashraf Ghani’s oath-taking ceremony.

Prior to that, both lawmakers were detained by the Islamabad police in Jan for organising a protest against the arrest of PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen. The PTM workers and supporters had gathered outside Islamabad Press Club to protest the arrest of Manzoor Pashteen when police launched a crackdown

Reactions Against Arrest:


Following the arrest of the PTM lawmaker, reactions poured in on Twitter, denouncing the provincial government's move to detain the MNA.