'The militants roam freely' Resurgent Pakistan Taliban sow fear on border

Tariq Ahmed never lets his pistol out of his sight these days. Sitting cross-legged on a charpoy, his face concealed with a scarf, the 26-year-old nervously looks left and right, shifting his gun in and out of his waistband.

- Hannah Ellis-Petersen Shah Meer Baloch Peshawar

It was here in this neighbourhood, bordering Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, that his uncle Shehan Shah, 36, was shot dead by the Taliban just months ago.

Like Ahmed, his uncle was in the police, a higher-ranking constable dedicated to a job that supported his seven children. But as Shah stepped out early one Saturday morning in June to make his way on foot to Hashtnagri police station, he was followed by masked men on a motorbike. As one drew out an AK-47, Shah tried to wrestle it away, but the accomplice raised a pistol and riddled him with bullets.

The attackers were never caught, but it did not take long for the Pakistan Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to take credit for Shah's killing, accusing him of being part of anti-Taliban operations.

"Pakistani Taliban are present in every village around here now," said Ahmed. "They have a network of spies or informants who can tell them about local police who take part in raids on their camps."

Two of Ahmed's fellow officers from his police unit in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were recently killed by the TTP in a targeted suicide bombing. Now he says that he lives in a permanent state of fear.

"These terror attacks on police are increasing," he said. "We are very vigilant. I don't tell anyone when I go out."