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Talibanisation increases prices of weapons in Darra Adam Khel

* Taliban buying heavy weapons

By Manzoor Ali Shah

PESHAWAR: The sales and prices of arms in Frontier Region (FR) of Darra Adam Khel, famous for its illegal arms market, have shot up as the Taliban insurgency is gaining momentum in the tribal areas and parts of NWFP, Daily Times learnt on Thursday.

Shopkeepers in Darra bazaar told Daily Times that the prices of weapons had soared because the “mujahideen” who used to sell weapons in the past now needed them.

A shopkeeper told Daily Times on condition of anonymity that the price of second-hand Kalashnikov rifles had reached Rs 35,000 apiece, and new ones were being sold for Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000.

Previously, the same rifle was available for Rs 20,000 to 25,000. Reportedly, prices of rounds have also risen. “The Egyptian variety of rifle rounds is available for Rs 14 per cartridge, and the Chinese variety is available for Rs 19 per cartridge,” he said. Previously, he said, Miranshah was the main supplier of arms and ammunition, but now the area had stopped the supply owing to local demand and the Taliban insurgency.

Taliban buying heavy weapons: According to tribal sources, the prices of heavy weapons such as rocket launchers have also increased and the Taliban are buying these weapons. “Authorities banned the display and sale of heavy weapons in Darra bazaar and the tribal areas in 1999, but the business is continuing in secret from a warehouse outside the bazaar. The Taliban themselves broke the ban by patrolling the area with heavy weapons,” he said.

Another source told Daily Times that the local Taliban had banned Shiites from Darra Adam Khel, a small town located in a narrow gorge between Kohat and Peshawar, around 35 kilometres south of the latter. It takes its name from the Adam Khel clan of the Afridi tribe. It is considered Asia’s largest centre for the manufacture of illegal small arms, where potential buyers testing weapons on the roadside is a common sight.

Military-style apparel vendors in Peshawar said that their sales had also increased in the wake of the wave of Talibanisation. However, they said they had not received orders for larger quantities of weapons, because the same facilities were available in the insurgency-plagued areas.

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