KHYBER AGENCY – The February 12 decapitation of a 70-year-old baker in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, by the Taliban has terrorised the local population and aroused universal condemnation from tribal society and rights activists.

The Taliban accused the man of being a spy in an attempt to justify his murder.

“Waris Khan had always lived a clean life and confined himself to a limited number of friends,” Qadeer Jan, a close friend of the murdered baker, told Central Asia Online, while refusing to comment on militant behaviour on grounds of personal safety.

Taliban terror is the main reason local residents will not comment on such matters, said local elder Hasam ud Din.