When he initially heard the news, seasoned journalist Muhammad Farooq Mehsud—who has been covering political issues and militancy in Pakistan’s unstable tribal areas since 2011—was unprepared for the shock. On October 7, the day the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) was banned, Mehsud received word that he and two of his colleagues had been placed on the Fourth Schedule.
When someone’s name appears in the Anti-Terrorism Act’s (ATA) Fourth Schedule, it indicates that they have been proscribed. These individuals are subject to a number of restrictions, such as a ban on financial support and credit, a freezing of bank accounts, an embargo on their passport, limitations on job clearance, and an embargo on arms licenses.
