In its latest Amnesty Urgent Action, the TRU Students’ Union called on Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Sohail Afridi, to immediately reveal the whereabouts and ensure the release of Hanif Pashteen and Noor Ullah Tareen, members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement who were forcibly disappeared in November 2025.
“Writing this letter was an act of advocacy and solidarity with those whose voices are being erased,” said LGBTQ+ Representative, Ximena Maldonado. “No one should disappear for peacefully defending human rights or speaking on behalf of their communities.”
Hanif Pashteen and Noor Ullah Tareen were reportedly detained after attending a meeting at the Provincial Assembly in Peshawar as community representatives. While five others arrested alongside them were later released, both men remain missing, and their families have received no official information regarding their whereabouts or legal status. As stated in the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disapperance (ICPPED), enforced disappearance is one of the gravest human-rights violations because it removes individuals not only from public view, but from the protection of the law itself. Without access to lawyers, families, or legal safeguards, those disappeared remain at heightened risk of torture, ill-treatment, and indefinite detention.
Beyond these individual cases, their disappearance reflects a broader and deeply concerning pattern of repression against members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, a peaceful movement advocating accountability for enforced disappearances and abuses affecting Pashtun communities. Authorities have repeatedly used intimidation, arbitrary detention, and disappearance to silence activists and discourage civic participation. When states respond to peaceful advocacy with fear and secrecy, the consequences extend far beyond those detained, they create a climate where communities are taught that demanding justice may come at the cost of their freedom or safety. Silence in these moments does not protect democracy, it weakens it.
“Human rights cannot exist only where they are convenient,” sais Maldonado. “We raise our voices because accountability matters, disappearance must never become normalized, and answers regarding lives will always be expected.”
The Union awaits a response from the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, on this urgent matter.
For more Information
The Amnesty Urgent Actions Program allows the Union to take action regarding international human rights injustices that matter to students. Click this link to see injustices we have addressed previously, and for further information about this issue or to see a copy of the letter, contact the Equity Coordinator below.