By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: District authorities imposed Section 144 restrictions on Thursday in Upper and Lower South Waziristan, sharply limiting movement and closing markets in key areas as security concerns mounted and officials moved to facilitate logistics for security forces.
The measures, in effect from 6 am to 6 pm, were described by officials as necessary to ensure public safety, maintain law and order and allow uninterrupted operational travel by security personnel in the restive districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In Upper South Waziristan, Deputy Commissioner Asmatullah Wazir confirmed that the restrictions covered the tehsils of Sarvekai and Sararogha. All movement was banned during those hours, and markets and commercial centers were ordered shut. The affected routes included those to Makin, Sararogha, Kot Kai and Spinkai Raghzai up to Nazar Khel, as well as the stretch from Dargai Bridge through Madi Jan, Sheen Warsak and Moley Khan Sarai to Chagmalai.
Residents were instructed to stop vehicles at least 50 meters before approaching security forces and to ensure all passengers exited if required. Wazir emphasized that violators “will be held personally accountable” and that strict compliance with security directives was mandatory. In Lower South Waziristan, Deputy Commissioner Musarat Zaman announced parallel restrictions across various parts of Wana. Non-essential movement was prohibited during the same daylight hours in response to security threats and to ease the passage of security forces. Restricted routes included those through Wana, Tiarza Gate, Karb Kot, Tanai, and Azizabad Chowk up to Dargai Bridge.
Emergency travel would be allowed only with prior permission from police or security forces and after presenting valid identification and travel documents. Zaman urged citizens to strictly adhere to the instructions and avoid non-essential travel, adding that “any violation will be the sole responsibility of the individual concerned.” Across both districts, only approved emergency movement would be permitted during the curfew period. Citizens were advised to cooperate fully with security forces, remain patient and avoid any activities that could compromise public safety. Markets, shops and commercial centers were to stay closed.
Officials stressed that the steps were essential to maintain sustainable peace, support security operations and ensure the safety of residents. The South Waziristan region has seen a deteriorating security situation in recent months, alongside a spike in terrorist activities across the province. Earlier this month, Mehsud tribal elders and jirga members called on the Upper South Waziristan deputy commissioner to highlight the lack of basic facilities and raise law-and-order concerns. On Nov. 10, 2025, terrorists attacked the Cadet College in Wana, in Lower South Waziristan. The government identified the attackers as Afghan nationals. The assailants targeted the college’s main gate and gained entry to the institution, but a timely response from security forces averted a major tragedy. All students and teachers were safely rescued, and all terrorists holed up inside the building were killed.
The curfews came as the broader northwest continued to reel from violence. On Wednesday in the neighboring Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, militants raided a mosque during Taraweeh prayers, abducting three brothers — two of them police officers — and triggering a region-wide search. Eyewitnesses reported that 10 to 12 armed men entered the mosque, held worshippers hostage and fled with the brothers: Saeed Akhtar, a clerk at the commissioner’s office, and Amjad and Hazratullah, who served in the Wazir subdivision’s police force.
Police officials said the two abducted officers were later brutally killed, their bodies dumped along Marwat Canal Road. Saeed Akhtar remained missing. Local Chairman Masoom Wazir said he received information about the two bodies, reached the site and found both victims covered in blood. The bodies were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital. Regional Police Officer Sajjad Khan confirmed that the kidnappers were affiliated with a militant group and said a full-scale operation was underway against them.
Khan strongly condemned the terrorists for violating the sanctity of a mosque, describing the raid as “a deeply tragic and reprehensible act.” He noted that terrorist elements had previously used mosques as hideouts but said police continued to carry out operations against such groups to ensure the protection of places of worship and the lives and property of citizens.
Joint search operations by police and other security agencies were continuing at various locations to recover the third abducted individual, Khan said. He urged the public to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement authorities immediately. Funeral prayers for the two slain police officers were offered Thursday with full state honors at the Police Lines in Bannu.
Bannu district has been the scene of repeated security incidents in recent months, with both civilians and local security actors coming under attack. Earlier on Feb. 21, a lieutenant colonel and a sepoy were killed in a suicide attack during an intelligence-based operation in the district. The latest violence prompted intensified operations across the northwest as authorities sought to restore order.
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