Aiman Khattak
khattakaiman2@gmail.com
When a suspended police constable begins operating a network of 82 suspended police officials, dictates local police transfers, and directly obstructs state institutions, it signals an institutional breakdown. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, a group calling itself the “Police Aman Committee” has spent months operating an illegal shadow administration. What makes this crisis dangerous is not just the audacity of this vigilante outfit, but the absolute administrative paralysis and political indifference shown by the provincial government, which continues to look the other way while state authority is systematically eroded.
This security nightmare is the direct consequence of governance failure in Peshawar. After administrative changes in the police force following the departure of former IG Akhtar Hayat Khan, personnel previously dismissed or suspended over grave allegations including smuggling and covert links with terrorist groups re-emerged and regrouped under the guise of a “peace committee.” Led by suspended constable Khalid Khan, this group quickly transformed into an unguided militia.
Operating with apparent impunity, they have interfered directly in departmental affairs, influencing the postings of SHOs and DSPs, gaining leverage over armories, and essentially turning local policing into a private enterprise. The provincial leadership’s complete failure to take notice or assert control has effectively granted this rogue network tacit license to build a state within a state.
The pattern of violence and extortion established by this network is not new; it has been allowed to fester unchecked for well over a year. Last year, local businesses, traders, and ordinary residents in Lakki Marwat faced systematic harassment, forced collection of funds, and arbitrary detentions carried out by individuals masquerading as community guardians. Throughout 2025, reports surfaced repeatedly regarding the committee’s involvement in land disputes, illegal checkpoints, and extrajudicial intimidation tactics designed to crush local opposition. Despite numerous complaints submitted to high-ranking officials regarding vigilante justice and blatant abuse of power, the provincial administration turned a blind eye, allowing a suspended constable and his armed cronies to entrench themselves as the sole arbiters of law and order in the region.
The real cost of this ongoing provincial silence is paid by ordinary citizens who are left at the mercy of an unregulated armed group. On August 8, 2026, when the Pakistan Army organized a free medical camp at Government Boys High School in Nasr Khel, Sarai Naurang, members of this committee staged a violent disruption. Needy families seeking basic medical care and free medicines were intimidated, physically pushed back, and turned away by armed committee members determined to project local dominance. The tragic reality of the area was laid bare later that day: as army medical staff packed up to leave, desperate locals stopped their vehicles on the road just to plead for basic pain relief and essential medicines. Yet, even after public relief operations were forcibly shut down and poor citizens were deprived of basic health facilities, no stern action or administrative inquiry was ordered by provincial authorities.
This unchecked behavior predictably escalated into direct defiance of state security forces. Later in August 2026, security forces executed a successful counter-terrorism operation, rescuing a kidnapped Federal Constabulary official from the captivity of Fitna al-Khawarij. When returning troops arrived at the rescued official’s home, members of the Police Aman Committee met them not with cooperation, but with hostile confrontation. Video footage circulating online shows committee members shouting at soldiers, creating scenes of intimidation, and attempting to score political points against forces returning from a high-stakes mission.
These actions expose the true nature of this network. Real community peace mechanisms support law enforcement and protect vulnerable populations. Khalid Khan’s outfit operates as an extortion racket, blackmailing locals, facilitating anti-state narratives, and acting as covert facilitators for extremist elements while exploiting local political space provided by sympathetic political figures and groups like the PTM. Confronting security personnel who just rescued an officer from terrorists is not Pashtun tradition or jirga culture; it is open hostility toward the state and direct alignment with militant interests.
Furthermore, the intelligence reports linking these elements to cross-border smuggling networks and terrorists intelligence gathering highlight a massive security breach that the provincial cabinet refuses to acknowledge. By allowing suspended officers to maintain control over police driver pools, operational equipment, and sensitive precinct logs, the government in Peshawar has compromised the safety of frontline officers fighting active insurgencies. Every day this committee is allowed to operate, it sends a message to terrorists that the state is divided, weak, and incapable of policing its own ranks.
A state cannot outsource law and order to an uncodified, illegal militia. The fact that a suspended constable continues to dictate transfers, block medical aid, and confront counter-terrorism units is a glaring indictment of the provincial government’s criminal inaction. By refusing to act, the leadership in Peshawar is failing the people of Lakki Marwat and directly endangering the lives of security personnel. The provincial administration must immediately break its silence, order a thorough crackdown on this shadow network, arrest its ringleaders, and restore the unbroken command of state institutions before local governance collapses entirely.
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