“Geedar” in this region does not need translation. In Pashto and Urdu alike, it is shorthand for cowardice, a creature that survives by skulking, not standing its ground. The irony has not been lost on Bannu, one of the worst terror-stricken districts of Khyber Pkhtunkhwa, where a terrorist hiding behind the alias “Geedar” is attempting to frighten men he dares not face.
The militant, linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) networks active in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recently issued a social media threat claiming he would demolish the homes of 50 police officials in Bannu. The message was designed to intimidate families rather than confront uniformed officers, a familiar signature of groups that thrive on fear but avoid direct engagement.
The response was swift and unusually blunt.
The Ahmadzai tribe and the Ahmadzai Police Peace Committee issued a public warning, rejecting the threat and making it clear that any hostile act against police families or tribal members would invite a response that neither the terrorist nor his facilitators would forget. The message left no ambiguity, those who look at the tribe or its role in maintaining peace with ill intent will face consequences.
The statement also referenced the killing of two police personnel in recent attacks, vowing that their blood would not go unanswered.
Bannu has long been a frontline district in Pakistan’s fight against terrorism. Police posts, intelligence units, and peace committee members have been repeatedly targeted, precisely because local resistance has denied militants the space they seek. Terrorist figures like Geedar operate through threats, propaganda, and hit-and-run attacks, while relying on sanctuaries across the Afghan border.
Security officials consistently point to Afghan soil, saturated with American-abandoned weaponry, as a critical enabler of militant violence. Planning, direction, and protection for TTP-linked militants continue to originate from across the border, with Afghan Taliban patronage and facilitation allowing commanders to issue threats from safety while pushing foot soldiers into danger.
The Ahmadzai tribe’s role has been central in frustrating these designs. Tribal elders, youth, and peace committees have backed law enforcement, shared intelligence, and resisted militant coercion. That support is precisely why terrorists target them rhetorically, hoping fear will succeed where violence has failed.
In Bannu’s telling, the symbolism writes itself.
A Geedar may howl in the dark, but it does not hunt lions in daylight. And when it tries, the outcome is rarely remembered by the jackal, but often by those who sent it.
