Mohsin Dawar | |
|---|---|
| محسن داوڑ محسن داوړ | |
 | |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 13 August 2018 – 10 August 2023 | |
| Constituency | NA-48 (Tribal Area-IX) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1984-11-25)November 25, 1984 (age 40) Miranshah,North Waziristan,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan[1] |
| Political party | NDM (2021-present) |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | Gomal University[2] |
Mohsin Javed Dawar (Pashto:محسن جاوېد داوړ) is a Pakistani politician who is the chairman of theNational Democratic Movement (NDM). He had been a member of theNational Assembly from August 2018 till August 2023. He is the co-founder of ahuman rights movement,Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).[3] He has formerly served as president of theNational Youth Organisation (NYO) and the Pashtun Students Federation (PSF), the allied wings of theAwami National Party (ANP).[4]
On 10 February 2024, Dawar was wounded and his three supporters killed inMiramshah when the police fired shots on them, as they were protesting against the delay in announcement of election results from theNorth Waziristan constituency in thePakistani general election. The attack drew widespread condemnation, with calls for accountability for those responsible.[5][6]
Mohsin Dawar's great-grandfather was close to the Pashtun leaderAbdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan), and had supported hisnonviolentKhudai Khidmatgarresistance movement against theBritish Raj. While attending theGomal University, Mohsin Dawar was the president of the Pashtun Students Federation (PSF), an allied student wing of theAwami National Party (ANP). Dawar also co-founded the ANP's youth wing, theNational Youth Organisation (NYO). In the wake ofOperation Zarb-e-Azb by thePakistan Armed Forces, during which many inhabitants ofNorth Waziristan wereforced to flee their homes in June 2014 to settle atIDPcamps inBannu and other districts, Dawar campaigned for the return of the refugees to their homes. He led the ANP'shumanitarian efforts for the displaced persons, which included raising funds, distributing rations and establishing a school. He also highlighted a number of other issues faced by the returnees in his speeches and writings, such as the army's demolition of shops in his hometown,Miramshah.[2]
At a press conference inPeshawar in November 2016, Dawar stated that before the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the terrorists in North Waziristan had already "shifted to other safer places and no resistance took place," but despite that, "hundreds of houses and around 8,000 shops in Miramshah were razed to the ground" during the operation. He added that expensive household items were also lost, but the government did not keep its commitment to compensate the affectees.[7] In his opinion article forAl Jazeera in March 2021, Dawar reiterated that although "the state of Pakistan claims it has been successful in its military operations, the region remains volatile as groups allied with theTaliban continue to not only exist and operate in these areas within Pakistan, but also carry out operations like before across the border in Afghanistan."[8]
Dawar's opencriticism of the Pakistan Armed Forces, however, irritated ANP leaders, especially those who were looking to avoid confrontation with themilitary establishment. The ANP leaders were also annoyed when Dawar became one of the founding leaders of thePashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) in February 2018.[2][9] In spite of receiving no show-cause notice in advance or an opportunity to defend himself, Dawar's membership was suspended from the ANP on 20 March 2018 by the party's president,Asfandyar Wali Khan.[4][10]
Dawar was elected to theNational Assembly of Pakistan as an independent candidate fromNA-48 (Tribal Area-IX) in the2018 general election.[11] He received 16,526 votes, defeating Mufti Misbahudin of theMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Aurangzeb Khan of thePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).[12]
On 1 September 2021, Dawar founded a political party,National Democratic Movement (NDM).[13] Some analysts claimed that the NDM would cause a set back for the PTM, a non-parliamentary political movement, and curtail its influence. However, Dawar insisted that the NDM would support the PTM. "The PTM is a joint movement and we remained part of it. I don’t think that the NDM will weaken the PTM," he said.[14] Several other leaders who joined the NDM, includingJamila Gilani,Bushra Gohar,Afrasiab Khattak andAbdullah Nangyal, were also prominent activists in the PTM.[15]
From 11 to 14 March 2022, he was part of thePashtun National Jirga, which was held inBannu to discuss the critical issues faced by the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan.[16]
On 30 November 2018, Dawar andAli Wazir, his fellow parliamentarian and PTM leader, were traveling toDubai,UAE to attend a Pashtun cultural event, but they were offloaded from their flight atBacha Khan International Airport,Peshawar. TheFederal Investigation Agency kept Dawar and Wazir in custody for three days. Dawar demanded action against the personnel who arrested them without getting prior permission from theSpeaker of the National Assembly.[17][18]
On 30 May 2019, Dawar handed himself over to the police inBannu after four days of hiding following theKharqamar incident. Ali Wazir had already been arrested by the military in Kharqamar, North Waziristan, on 26 May. After almost four months in jail, Dawar and Wazir were released on bail on 21 September 2019.[19] On 14 October 2020, the government withdrew the Kharqamar case against PTM, and Dawar and Wazir were acquitted of the charges against them.[20][21]
On 28 January 2020, Dawar and 28 other protesters, includingIsmat Shahjahan andAmmar Rashid of theAwami Workers Party (AWP), were arrested by the police outside theNational Press Club inIslamabad, where they had gathered to stage a protest against the arrest of PTM chairmanManzoor Pashteen, who had been arrested inPeshawar a day earlier on allegations of sedition. Video footage from the protest showed Dawar was dragged by the police and detained in a police vehicle.[22] Dawar and Ismat Shahjahan were released on 29 January but Ammar Rashid and 22 others were sent to jail on sedition charges; all charges were dropped against them on 17 February.[23][24][25] Manzoor Pashteen was also released from jail on 25 February.[26]
On 4 September 2020, Dawar was taken into custody atQuetta International Airport and barred from participating in political activities inQuetta. Dawar said the airport authorities informed him that he and Ali Wazir were banned from enteringBalochistan for another 90 days.[27][28] On 24 October 2020, he was again arrested at the airport to stop him from attending aPakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally in Quetta.Akhtar Mengal, the president of theBalochistan National Party (Mengal), andMaryam Nawaz, a leader of thePakistan Muslim League (N), condemned Dawar's arrest.[29][30]
On 28 March 2021, the police arrested Dawar inKarak and Manzoor Pashteen inKohat to prevent both of them from travelling to Bannu to join and lead theJanikhel protest march. The protest was called off on 29 March after an agreement was signed between the protesters andMahmood Khan, theChief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, following which Dawar and Pashteen were released.[31]
On February 10, 2024, Dawar and his supporters faced a tragic incident inMiramshah,North Waziristan, during their protest against the delay in the announcement of election results from theNA-40 North Waziristan constituency in the2024 Pakistani general election. As they gathered to express their grievances, the police opened fire on them. Dawar survived but sustained injuries, while three protesters were killed and several others were wounded. This event spurred a significant outcry among the local community and Dawar's supporters, leading to a large-scale rally in North Waziristan. The participants, including the NDM party and members of the Darpa Khel clan, strongly condemned the police action and demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident, alongside the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.[6][14]