MNA Mohsin Dawar will be launching a political party in Peshawar on September 1.
On Sunday, Dawar took to Twitter to announce the launch of his party. “After a series of formal consultations with friends and supporters throughout the country, we have decided to form a political party. We will be launching the party in Peshawar on 1st September. We will continue our struggle for rights and justice through this new platform.”
Mohsin Dawar is expected to be flanked by former senator Afrasiab Khattak and former National Assembly member Bushra Gohar at the launch of the party tomorrow. The name, flag and manifesto will be presented at the launch.
After a series of formal consultations with friends and supporters throughout the country, we have decided to form a political party. We will be launching the party in Peshawar on 1st September. We will continue our struggle for rights and justice through this new platform.
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) August 29, 2021
The announcement of the party will formalize a factional split within the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM). According to informed sources close to these developments, Mohsin Dawar’s group had been calling for the formation of a political party for over two years. “We attempted to have a conversation on a political party within PTM many times, but unfortunately, these attempts were consistently shut down by the leadership,” said an activist who is privy to PTM’s internal discussions.
“As time passed, calls for a political party grew louder and harder to ignore. There are a number of people associated with the PTM who wish to contest in local government elections as well as elections for the provincial and the national assemblies. They need a platform to contest these elections.”
Sources say many within the PTM disagree with Manzoor Pashteen’s insistence on keeping the movement away from parliamentary politics. These competing tendencies came head-to-head in July at PTM’s Makin jalsa, where supporters of Manzoor Pashteen and Mohsin Dawar clashed openly. Soon after the jalsa, Abdullah Nangyal, who belongs to Mohsin Dawar’s group, spoke out against Pashteen, accusing him of financial misappropriation.
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