At gunpoint: Alleged militants take animal hides

Locals warned not to donate skins to any mosque or other organisation.

PESHAWAR: Armed militants, allegedly from Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), are collecting the hides of sacrificial animals by force and have warned locals not to donate them to mosques or any other organisation.

Village elders told The Express Tribune on Sunday that LI militants have been coming to collect hides over the last three days.

“They came in pickups and took as many as possible. The suspects managed to flee before the police arrived,” said one of the elders. “The armed men also snatched money from people in broad daylight.” He said the police had been informed about LI’s announcement but the militants were still able to enter the area and take away at least 60 skins.

However, one police official believed it was local criminals, not militants, who were involved in extorting hides from locals. Requesting anonymity, he added the accused had managed to flee before the police could reach the area.

“A few people riding bikes were spotted in Sheikhan village, but they fled when a police party was sent after them,” he said.

“It is an easy source of income for both criminals and militants; they also forced Afghan refugees who celebrated Eid a day earlier to handover the hides they had collected,” added the policeman. He reiterated the police was determined to foil any such attempt in Peshawar district, but it had no control over tribal areas.

Reports from across the city seemed to confirm that at least one banned Kashmir-based militant outfit was able to collect hides in Khazana, Daudzai and other parts of the city which fall in the jurisdiction of Regi police station.

“You can arrest someone who claims to be part of a banned outfit, but what would you do with people who work for these militant organisations and come under the guise of different names?” questioned another policeman.

He said that a banned sectarian outfit, under a new name, was also active in the forceful collection of hides.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2014.