KHYBER: A recent surge in targeted attacks against the personnel of law enforcement agencies in Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber district has perturbed the residents with a number of families intending to shift to safer places.

Unidentified gunmen, believed to be affiliated with proscribed terrorist groups, have targeted policemen and two civilians over the last six months, terrifying the residents, while groups of armed men regularly patrol and conduct snap checks on local roads after sunset.

Initially, terrorists had established their base in the hilly terrain of Mazreena in the Sultankhel area, but now they could also be seen in Walikhel, Enzari Kandaw, Haidarai Kandaw and Shalman localities, where they have reportedly ‘employed’ residents, mostly youth, as their facilitators.

With the Khyber police and security forces mostly focused on conducting search operations and picking ordinary tribesmen for investigations after every target killing, residents feel frustrated over their failure to arrest the culprits and award them ‘exemplary punishment’.

A number of perturbed families intending to shift to safer places

Residents told Dawn that they seldom venture out of their homes after sunset, as they fear for their personal safety, while the police, too, are reluctant to conduct night patrols or stay at their checkposts beyond daytime.

The residents said that nighttime movement of terrorists was not their only concern, as their young facilitators were now present everywhere, who share information about the police and security forces’ movement with their local commanders.

These young facilitators could not be easily recognised as they are mostly clean-shaven with neatly combed hair and decently dressed, unlike the long-haired and bearded militants, while they easily mix up with local people and conveniently gather the required information without being noticed, local sources told Dawn.

They said that in some cases, these young boys spy on traders and businessmen before they are approached by militant commanders to extort money from them. Such cases have increased manifold since the closure of the Torkham border in October last year.

Shah Khalid Shinwari, former tehsil chairman, said that initially it was believed that the border closure would help quell subversive activities as militants’ entry from Afghanistan could be effectively checked.

“Instead, terrorist activities, especially targeted attacks against the law enforcement agencies, have increased during the last six months with the terrorist network expanding and becoming more emboldened in Landi Kotal since the closure of the border,” he said.

He said that the rising inclination of local youth towards militancy had terrified residents, especially their parents, as many such ‘facilitators’ had fled their homes after their names were divulged by their arrested colleagues during interrogation by police and security forces.

Mr Shinwari said that people were yet to see concrete steps by the law enforcement agencies to eradicate the menace of targeted killing and extortion as promised by the federal government under the National Action Plan.

Khyber Siyasi Ittehad has organised protest demonstrations with its president, Murad Hussain Afridi, insisting that ensuring the safety of the general public was the government’s prime responsibility.

Speaking to Dawn, he said that only a handful of terrorists were operating in Landi Kotal tehsil and that, too, in specific locations, but the LAEs had failed to initiate a meaningful operation against them.

“Since the targeted killing of a local journalist, Khalil Jibran, in 2024 till the martyrdom of a CTD personnel in recent weeks, neither the police nor the security forces have arrested a single militant involved in these gruesome acts,” he lamented.

He said the failure to stop such incidents had also eroded the residents’ trust in the security institutions.

Hazrat Shah, a shopkeeper in Landi Kotal Bazaar, told Dawn that rising militant activities had added to their financial woes as the prolonged closure of the Torkham border had already impacted trade.

He said that many traders have moved out of Landi Kotal, and others leave their shops much before evening prayers.

A local source, who requested anonymity, said militants too were faced with financial issues as monetary assistance from across the Torkham border had dried up, and they were mostly relying on extortion from local moneyed people.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026