Darra Adam Khel Explained

Darra Adam Khel
Native Name:درہ آدم خیل
Settlement Type:Tehsil
Mapsize:100px
Pushpin Map:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa#Pakistan
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Pakistan
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Kohat
Subdivision Type3:Capital
Subdivision Type4:Towns
Subdivision Type5:Union councils
Leader Title:Chairman
Leader Name:Shahid Bilal
Population As Of:2017
Timezone:Pakistan Standard Time
Utc Offset:+5
Leader Party:IND

Darra Adam Khel (Pushto; Pashto: درہ آدم خیل) is the main town of Dara Adam Khel Tehsil (formerly known as "Frontier Region Kohat") in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gunsmiths and weapons merchants. The town consists of one main street lined with multiple shops, while side-alleys and streets contain workshops.

Economy

A wide variety of firearms are produced in the town, ranging from anti-aircraft guns to pen guns. Weapons are handmade by individual craftsmen using traditional manufacturing techniques, which are usually handed down from father-to-son. Guns are regularly tested by test-firing into the air.[1] Darra is controlled by the local tribesmen.[2] The town has certain special laws compared to the rest of Pakistan. Most of the people here make or sell just one thing, i.e., guns, while the second largest business of the inhabitants is transport. Manufacturing of heavy ammunition, however, has been closed down.

Tourism is not advisable because tribal police (Khasadar) visit the market to check for any local rules and law violation. Foreigners without permits are taken to secure places to avoid any mishaps.

The Darra arms trade first fired up in 1897 and became popular with the Adam Khel Afridis.

According to Vice News, the gun trade in the area was affected by Taliban and was forced to go underground.[3]

Tourism

Michael Palin visited the town as part of his Himalaya television series, as did Ethan Casey in his travel book Alive and Well in Pakistan while Australian film director Benjamin Gilmour's feature drama Son of a Lion set in Darra Adam Khel premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2008. Suroosh Alvi of Vice Media also entered the market-town in 2006 for a segment of Vice Guide to Travel.[4]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Firearms Stalls Line The Streets Of Pakistan Town . 2021-03-26 . 2013-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130616144216/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-07-24/news/9807230530_1_guns-main-street-darra . dead .
  2. News: Governor urges tribesmen to purge outlaws from FATA . OnlineNews.com.pk . 2003 . 2007-08-17 . Mohsin Jamil Baig . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928010444/http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=87563 . 2011-09-28 .
  3. Web site: VBS TV: "Gun Markets of Pakistan": Where the Taliban Goes Shopping (+ Slideshow). 2021-01-14. www.vice.com. en.
  4. Web site: The Gun Markets of Pakistan with Suroosh Alvi. YouTube.