A Banyan tree located in Landi Kotal army cantonment sits shackled in chains, with a board that reads 'I am under arrest.'



You read that right!

This 'fettered' tree has been under arrest in Pakistan's Khyber Agency for a 100 years. Back in 1898, British officer, named James Squid, in an inebriated state, imagined that the tree was lurching behind him and that's when he arrested it.

Since then, it stands chained and forlorn in the army cantonment.



According to a report in Dawn news "in 1898 an intoxicated British officer ordered the mess sergeant to arrest the tree as he thought that it was moving towards him. Since then, the tree has remained in chains."



But, that's not all, this illogical act by the Britisher officer back in the day, has a darker meaning.

The Tribune reports, this act by British officer James Squid, was a way of threatening the tribal people. A resident of the army cantonment, Amran Shinwari told the paper, 'Through this act, the British basically implied to the tribesmen that if they dared act against the Raj, they too would be punished in a similar fashion."

Facebook/Plants an autonoumous being Facebook/Plants an autonoumous being

The report suggests that the Banyan tree was an allegory for the Frontier Crimes Regulations, a draconian colonial law promulgated by the Britishers back in 1901 which counters the Pashtun opposition to the Raj. The law allowed the government to bestow unwarranted punishment on locals who defied the rules or went against the