A Voice Locked in Darkness
Usman Ziarmal is a PTM (Pashtun Tahafuz Movement) activist who had been forcibly disappeared and held without charge before being released. He continues to advocate for Pashtun rights and speak out against enforced disappearances in Pakistan. The views expressed are his own.
I am a political activist, but how was I treated?
A black cloth was thrown over my face, and by force, I was taken from the gates of justice to an unknown location. They locked me in a room, handcuffed my hands, and chained me to a table. They told me to keep chanting "Allahu Akbar" day and night. For 24 hours, I remained in handcuffs. Sleep, food, and prayers were all done in handcuffs.
They would not let me sleep properly; every night after 2 hours, someone would come and wake me, saying, "Show your hands, you're not free yet." When electricity came, we could not go to the washroom easily. Electric currents were running through the washroom taps. When there was no electricity, I would bang on the table, someone would come, and I would go to the washroom. When the light came on, they would knock on the door saying, "Hurry up." When I came out of the washroom, they would chain me back to the table.
I had no sense of time. I did not know what time it was. I told them: Why is a political activist being treated this way? They said: "Why do you speak against the state?" My mind was exhausted; the pain was beyond limit. But this ordinary suffering gave me the feeling that I am a companion of a just narrative, and this narrative is one of winning the homeland. We give our heads, but we do not step back from the national narrative. Long live the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement.
BACKGROUND:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtun_Tahafuz_Movement
Guest Post | Usman Ziarmal
Written by: Nazir Ahmed