Peshawar: Sugar mill operators in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are reporting that they are being extorted by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with the militant group threatening violence if their demands are not met, according to an official, reported PTI.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Zone has sent urgent letters to key provincial figures, including Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, and Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Umar Bukhari, to raise awareness of the serious situation.
The letters detail how sugar millers in the Ramak area of Dera Ismail Khan are facing persistent threats from the TTP, who are demanding extortion money. The militants have also warned of armed attacks on the factories if their demands are not satisfied.
“General managers of these sugar mills are receiving threatening phone calls, instructing them to pay ‘taxes’ to the militants rather than the government,” the letters state. The callers have explicitly threatened severe consequences, including armed assaults on the facilities, for any refusal to comply.
The Chairman of the Association expressed deep concern over the distress that these threats are causing among local workers. He urged the authorities to take immediate and decisive action to ensure security and restore law and order in the Ramak region.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (KP Zone) has formally documented and reported the situation to the relevant authorities through official correspondence.
