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British Officer Thought a Tree Was Moving : So He Ordered Its “Arrest”
SPECIAL STORY : Imagine walking through a road, seeing a tree apparently moving away from you, and then rather than questioning your own senses ordering the tree to be arrested and chained. It sounds like a bizarre tale from a film, but one such story has survived for generations in Landikotal near Pakistan’s Torkham border, where a tree is still displayed in chains. According to the popular local account, British officer James Squid was posted in the Landikotal area during the colonial period and was allegedly walking along a tree-lined path one day after consuming alcohol.
As he approached a tree, he reportedly became convinced that the tree was moving farther away from him. Angered by what he perceived as the tree “moving,” the officer allegedly ordered the mess sergeant to arrest it and tie it down with heavy chains. The order was reportedly carried out, and the tree has remained chained ever since. Today, the unusual tree is said to stand within the premises of the Khyber Rifles Officers’ Mess, where visitors can reportedly still see its trunk restrained by chains.
An information board near the tree is said to recount the story behind its unusual imprisonment, turning the bizarre incident into a historical curiosity that attracts visitors. For many locals, however, the chained tree represents more than an amusing colonial anecdote it has become a symbolic reminder of the arbitrary authority and oppressive nature associated with British rule, illustrating how orders from colonial officials could reportedly be imposed without regard for reason or fairness.
The story has therefore taken on a powerful symbolic meaning: even a tree, which could neither speak nor resist, was supposedly “punished” simply because an authority figure believed it had disobeyed him. Whether every detail of the tale can be independently established or has been embellished over time, the chained tree continues to capture public imagination and serves as one of the strangest surviving reminders associated with the British-era history of the region.
