Arif Wazir, a leader of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) died on Saturday in an Islamabad hospital after being attacked by unidentified gunmen outside his home in Wana of Waziristan.
The attack comes after Pakistani Police arrested Arif Wazir on April 17 for an alleged anti-Pakistan speech during his recent visit to Afghanistan. He was released on bail three days ago. Mohsin Dawar, a member of Pakistan’s Parliament and member of the PTM, accused “state-sponsored terrorists” of carrying out the attack.
Wazir’s cousin, Muhammad Ali Wazir in a statement said that he had received three bullet injuries in his body, The News International reported. The police have registered a first information report (FIR) at Wana police station. Back in 2017, seven members of Wazir’s family were killed in a clash with militants near Wana. Meanwhile, the Amnesty International in a statement on Saturday said the authorities must carry out an effective probe into the attack on Arif Wazir and suspected perpetrators must be held accountable. PTM is a rights-based resistance movement in Pakistan, which has been critical of state policies in the tribal belt. It has also been vocal against the government on the issue of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Former president Hamid Karzai in a statement extended his condolences over the death of Arif Wazir.