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AFP
Lahore, Pakistan
Thousands of Pashtuns defied authorities and held a mass rally in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, chanting anti-military slogans just hours after security forces cracked down on their leaders.
The rapidly growing Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM) has rattled Pakistan's powerful military since it burst onto the scene three months ago with a nationwide campaign against alleged abuses against ethnic Pashtuns by security forces.
The Pashtuns are a fiercely independent ethnic group that straddle both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban are dominated by Pashtuns, leading to repeated military operations in the region.
But PTM's leadership say Pashtun civilians have born the brunt of the army's long fight against militants and are calling for an end to what they say are rampant extrajudicial killings and"disappearances".
Despite a far-reaching media blackout the movement has nonetheless drawn thousands of supporters, in one of the strongest challenges to Pakistan's security establishment for years. PTM's leader Manzoor Pashteen on Sunday addressed supporters in the eastern city of Lahore, lashing out at the country's top military brass over their alleged abuses and"dirty tactics".
"They are thieves and they have only one goal in life, that is to make as much money as they can,"he said.
A reporter at the scene estimated about 5,000 people attended the rally smaller than recent protests, but a significant showing considering Lahore lies far from the movement's base in northwest Pakistan.
