PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities have banned a prominent organization advocating for the rights of the Pashtun ethnic group and barred it from holding a rally in the restive northwest on charges of working against the interests of Pakistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tatar said Pakistan issued a notice this week banning the Pashtun Protection Movement after concluding that it supports the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up attacks on civilians and security forces in recent years. The Pashtun Protection Movement, or PTM, denies the charges. The group was founded in 2014 and has waged a campaign to force the military to leave the former tribal regions in the northwest bordering Afghanistan.
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