Guns and roses

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Once some journalists were invited by a senator to Mohmand Agency where an Afghan tribe had decided to join Fata. The political agent who is considered King in Fata also accompanied us. As we drove towards that area the tribesmen fired anti-aircraft guns and rockets to welcome the guests. At one point we stopped and complained of an attack on the convoy when a huge blast took place on the roadside. Later we learnt that jubilant tribesmen had carried out an anti-tank mine blast to greet us.

In Darra Adam Khel where 5pc of the arms business has been presently converted to other legal trade, several hand grenades and anti-personnel mines were blown up to welcome the arrival of a bride at a house in Akhorwal area at a wedding party.

Similar to the culture in interior Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, the Pakhtuns too express every emotion from anger to celebration through gunfire and the tradition thrives to the present day. Every house owns at least one Kalashnikov worth Rs100,000. Bandoliers slung across the shoulders of the tribesmen and Pakhtuns as they casually go about their daily lives is not an uncommon sight.

In their race to acquire more sophisticated and modern weapons, each tribe wants to outdo the enemy and cause maximum damage while fighting as most disputes in the Pakhtun society are over land. The gun culture is as old as land disputes.

The tribesmen fight over possession of mountains which provide them wood, apples, almonds, apricots and other fruit as well as a high point for surveillance or at least give them a level fighting field.

In Kohat, the Mohammadzai tribe had a land dispute with the bordering tribe of Bezote in the Orakzai Agency, which was carved out by including land from Kurram Agency, Kohat, Khyber Agency and Hangu. The division was not acceptable to some tribesmen who lay claim over that land. There are similar land disputes in Kurram Agency, North and South Waziristan, Mohmand, Bajaur and tribal frontier regions.

During a fierce gun battle in 2009, the Bangash tribe provided the Muhammadzai tribesmen weapons to fight the Bezote tribe. According to Noor Muhammad Bangash, who contributed to the war, the Bangash tribe told the Muhammadzais that they could not provide tanks and helicopters but would arrange all types of arms and ammunition. This is a common situation in all the Pakhtun dominant areas of the country.
It is a tradition that in case of land dispute, all tribes offer an armed person from each house and funds are raised to buy arms. Deaths on each side are accepted without remorse. One tribe emerges victorious and the war legacy continues with no end.

Guns and roses - DAWN.COM

 

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At barely a half-hour drive from Peshawar, lies the hot, dry and dusty little arms manufacturing town of Darra Adam Khel in a valley surrounded by Kohat in the south, Peshawar in the north, Orakzai Agency in the west and Punjab in the east.

Adam Khel in the semi-autonomous tribal area of the frontier region of Kohat is famous for gun manufacturing and sale of foreign firearms of all kinds. The business is centuries old and the local elders say that the artisans learnt the art of making guns from the Mughals.

Drugs, fake currency, degree certificates, stolen vehicles, kidnappings for ransom are all interwoven into the social fabric. But the main source of income is from arms manufacturing. The bazaar has hundreds of workshops, display centers and arms manufacturing factories. There are nearly 900 factories knocking out firearms round the year.

It is interesting to note here that the iron used for making guns is purchased from the Gaddani ship breaking area of Karachi. This is because the steel available from Gaddani provides the required strength and thickness for firearms to be made in one piece.

Nowadays foreign firearms smuggled from Turkey, Italy, US, China, Russia and other countries make their way to the bazaar. The prices of foreign pistols range from Rs45,000 to Rs100,000 while shot guns and rifles are priced around Rs40,000 up to Rs250,000 for antique guns.

Deadly weapons line the shelves of these shops like innocuous grocery items. Every shot heard while passing through the bazaar means that a pistol or gun has been sold after being checked by the buyer.

After the deployment of security forces against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the area, smuggling has become a little bit tough. Weapons which used to reach the owner by carriers within 24 hours now reach the destination after at least one week. The fare varies according to the type of firearms being delivered. Delivery to Karachi or Islamabad will be around Rs.1,500, depending on the weapon. The rate for Kohat, which is hardly 11km from the Darra bazaar is Rs700.

Strangely enough, every tribal artisan and even common tribesmen say that for centuries, they have been making guns for their own use and cannot smuggle them to other parts of the country.

In the mid-90s the government tried to legalise the business to ascertain who were the buyers and sellers and also to set some controls. For this purpose, a government scheme was launched and young artisans were employed at Wah Ordnance Factories.

Each artisan was paid Rs25,000 cash besides being given facilities of boarding and food. But they left the jobs saying that they could easily make Rs10,000 in Darra Adam Khel by making two pistols, instead of living away from their home for such a low wage and little promise for the future. The makers of big guns like Kalashnikovs and rifles could obviously make much more.

The artisans and manufacturers are so capable that they are summoned to Afghanistan by militants to repair their guns, said one craftsman while talking to Dawn in Darra Adam Khel. He said that they are paid very well by the militants and they come safely home after completing their task.