BAJAUR: The district administration banned pillion riding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur for 10 days on Thursday by invoking Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) owing to the security situation.

The notification for the restriction, issued by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Adnan Farid’s office, said the measure was taken in view of reports from intelligence agencies and the police department.

Given the prevailing security situation and the possible use of motorcycles in terrorist activities, there was a need for immediate preventive measures, the notification added.

It said the DC was “satisfied that are sufficient grounds to proceed under Section 144 of the CrPC as immediate preventive measure to ensure public safety, avert any untoward incident, maintain law and order situation and peace in the district”.

The ban on pillion riding was imposed with immediate effect and would remain in place till Nov 7 unless the order was modified or withdrawn earlier.

The notification said any person violating the order would be punished under Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Earlier, the authorities imposed a 15-day ban on pillion riding in Bajaur on September 5, citing the security situation back then as well.

KP has been witnessing terrorist attacks and security challenges for a long time. According to a recent report from the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan recor­ded a sharp 83 per cent increase in violence-linked fatalities during the third quarter of 2026, re­­versing a declining trend reported in the first and second quarters as terrorism and counter-terrorism deaths surged nationwide.

Balochistan and KP remained the epicentres of violence, jointly accounting for 98pc of all fatalities during the period. Balochistan recorded 829 deaths, nearly 59pc of the national total, while KP reported 556 fatalities, accounting for more than 39pc.