Protesters Rally Across Pakistan To Demand Release Of Pashtun Leader

Thousands of people in cities across Pakistan protested against the arrest of Ali Wazir, the leader of an ethnic Pashtun civil rights group. The December 18 demonstrations erupted after Wazir was charged for holding an unsanctioned rally. Wazir leads the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) which has denounced the country's military for what it calls heavy-handed tactics that have killed thousands of Pashtun civilians in a campaign to defeat the Pakistani Taliban.