BAJAUR/SOUTH WAZIRISTAN/BANNU: The district administration of Bajaur, South Waziristan, and Bannu have placed a restriction on the trade of fertiliser in these areas for the next 30 days, which means that the trade and transport of fertiliser will not take place in these districts on account of security reasons. Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was applied in order to impose the restrictions due to the apprehensions of militants using fertiliser for making IEDs.

The notification given by the Bajaur Deputy Commissioner Adnan Farid pointed out that the fertiliser business ban has been placed in accordance with the directions of the home and tribal affairs department to improve public safety and law and order in the area. “There are security considerations which indicate that there are chances of misusing the fertilizer to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” the notification mentioned. Further, it added that the unrestricted sale, purchase, movement, and possession of the fertilizer can lead to such circumstances which will be hazardous for the public safety, security, and maintenance of public order.

Fertiliser Trade Ban in Bajaur

Together with the fertilizers trade ban, the Bajaur notification also clarified that the trading, purchasing, and transporting of any form of explosives was also banned in the district, effective immediately. It further added that any breach of these prohibitions would lead to criminal charges under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860.

It is pertinent to note that the district administration of Lower South Waziristan and Upper South Waziristan has each individually issued its own fertiliser trade ban, particularly focusing on the sale, purchase, transport and storage of urea fertiliser. Based on the same grounds of public safety and law and order, the deputy commissioners of both districts issued separate notices on Monday, directing the concerned departments to strictly enforce the ban in their respective areas. The notification indicates that the ban will come into effect from July 27 to August 25, 2026.

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Moreover, the district administration of Bannu has also imposed a ban on trading of fertiliser that involves buying, selling and transporting of urea fertiliser for one month based on the same security concerns as prevailed in the other districts facing similar situations. It has been instructed to all dealers dealing in fertiliser in Bannu to keep proper records and not buy, sell or transport urea fertiliser during the ban period.

In all four districts, it has been conveyed by the concerned authorities that anyone caught violating the ban on fertilizer trade will be dealt with severely in accordance with the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and other relevant laws. The uniformity in the above mentioned notifications indicates a collective regional approach towards stricter control over the commodity which has been used several times for making bombs in Pakistan's tribal and border areas.

The Bannu administrators observed that depending on the security conditions prevailing at the time, the order may be extended, amended or revoked even before its expiry after a period of one month. It means that the authorities would be watching out for changes in the security environment and making adjustments to the fertilizer ban accordingly.