Twenty-seven-year-old Manzoor Pashteen, who has been leading protests accusing Pakistan's army of human rights abuses, has been arrested for alleged criminal conspiracy and sedition.
He was taken into custody in Peshawar along with nine others from his Pashtun Protection Movement on the 26th of January, 2020.
Pashteen has been the leader and mobiliser of thousands of rallies in cities around Pakistan.
A fellow protest leader said he was being punished for simply demanding human rights, the BBC reported.
Manzoor Pashteen was a former veterinary student who shot to prominence two years ago when he became the face of the Pashtun Tahaffuz (Protection) Movement (PTM) - in a country where few openly challenge the military.
The BBC reported a number of cases last year by investigating the ones highlighted by the PTM.
"It has taken us almost 15 years of suffering and humiliation to gather the courage to speak up, and to spread awareness about how the military trampled our constitutional rights through both direct action and policy of support for the militants," Manzoor Pashteen had told the BBC.
Their non-violent demonstrations began over the extra-judicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a young man of ethnic Pashtun heritage, by the police in Karachi in 2018 and since then their movement has only expanded.
The PTM demands accountability from Pakistan's army for alleged human rights abuses committed against Pashtuns during the war against Islamist extremists in the country's north-west where Pashtuns make up the majority of the population along the border with Afghanistan.
PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen, however, has been accused of 'hate speech' and 'sedition' (which carries a possible life sentence) among other offences. His fellow protesters have demanded his immediate release.
Manzoor Pashteen has been arbitrarily detained for exercising his human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. He must be released immediately and unconditionally. #ReleaseManzoorPashteen
— Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) January 27, 2020
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