In a disturbing development, the banned terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), declared by the state as Fitnah al-khawarij, has issued an extortion demand through its official letterhead and an accompanying audio message, demanding a 5% cut from all ongoing development projects in the Dir district.
The written and audio message, attributed to a man identifying himself as Abu al-Basir Dirvi, introduces the sender as a representative of Fitnah al-khawarij and warns contractors and officials to comply strictly with the group’s demands.
In the audio recording, Abu al-Basir explicitly threatens consequences for non-compliance and reasserts TTP’s intent to extract what it falsely refers to as a “tax” from public development efforts—an attempt to fund its ongoing terrorist activities through coercion and fear.
This blatant act of extortion by khawarij poses a serious threat to both regional security and development progress, and highlights the ongoing challenge posed by terrorist financing networks within Pakistan.
Authorities are reportedly analyzing the message and investigating the group’s network in the region to prevent further attempts at disrupting public infrastructure projects.
Security officials reaffirm that terrorists and their facilitators will not be allowed to hijack development or intimidate the population and that firm action will be taken against all those involved.
