Residents of Bannu’s Hathikhel area are facing mounting pressure from terrorist activity and repeated security operations, with several families reportedly abandoning their ancestral homes for safer locations.
The most striking aspect of the situation, according to local sources, is that families leaving the area are allegedly being forced to pay for the homes they are abandoning.
Local sources said suspected terrorists have imposed various conditions on families in the mountainous and semi-tribal parts of Hathikhel, while continuing to demand extortion payments and other forms of financial support. In some cases, families reportedly being forced to relocate have been asked to pay up to Rs100,000 in exchange for their ancestral homes.
Sources said families with relatives working abroad have allegedly faced even higher financial demands, with terrorists seeking to exploit their access to foreign-earned income.
Residents said some families have effectively been left with two choices: comply with the conditions imposed by terrorists or leave the area. Those who leave without meeting the demands are allegedly threatened with the destruction of their homes.
According to local accounts, the extortion does not end with cash payments. Terrorists are also allegedly demanding a share of agricultural produce from local families.
Sources said portions of crops belonging to some families are being taken, adding another burden on residents already struggling with the economic consequences of prolonged insecurity and disruption.
The alleged practice has turned displacement into a second source of financial pressure for local families. Residents are not only being driven away from their ancestral areas by insecurity, but some are also reportedly being forced to pay before they can leave with what remains of their property.
For families dependent on agriculture and local livelihoods, the loss is therefore not limited to a house. Demands for cash and agricultural produce can strip displaced households of the resources they would otherwise rely on after relocation.
The developments also highlight the wider impact of terrorist activity in Bannu’s semi-tribal belt, where local communities can find themselves caught between the threat posed by terrorists and the disruption caused by continuing security operations.
While the allegations of extortion, forced displacement and property destruction came from local sources and could not be independently verified, the reported demands point to an increasingly coercive environment for residents of Hathikhel.
For families already forced to abandon their ancestral homes, the alleged Rs100,000 demand for the very houses they are leaving behind adds a particularly stark dimension to the crisis.
