The letter began with the most effusive of greetings, and ended with a threat—that if minister Atif Khan did not pay eight million rupees, he should consider that his time is up.

“Your excellency, Senior Minister Atif Khan, son of Haji Faisal Khalid sahib, peace be unto you. Pursuant to our greetings, from this missive, you would have fairly ascertained who we are and what we require of you…”

If this was the politesse of the Taliban, it would demonstrate that perhaps they have come a long way from their blood-letting days. “Janab-e-Mohtaram, we have watched you closely and we are in possession of all your data and records. As you are on the TTP Mardan’s list of most wanted men, your turn has arrived.”

Atif Khan, who is the minister for the portfolios of IT, science and technology, and food, told reporters when asked that he had indeed received such a letter. He was questioned about the extortion threat after the KP Inter Varsities Games opening ceremony in Peshawar.

“Yes. I have received the letter. Just like the ransom… some people have received,” he said. “I have shared it with the authorities concerned. Now hopefully they will further investigate… I have openly said that it exists and according to this I have informed all security agencies.” Atif Khan had also received a WhatsApp voice message believed to be from the banned outfit.

The Counter Terrorism Department has been in touch with the minister and sources said that the extortion call came from an Afghanistan mobile number.

The veracity of the letter has yet to be officially confirmed as has the audio. In fact, journalist Saleem Safi tweeted that the letter was not actually from the TTP.

ٹی ٹی پی کے ترجمان نے سوشل میڈیا پر گردش کرنے والے پختونخوا حکومت کے وزیر محمد عاطف کے نام اس دھمکی آمیز خط کو جعلی قرار دیا ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/87G4Yvxp7c

— Saleem Safi (@SaleemKhanSafi) October 19, 2022

The origin of the letter notwithstanding, its effect is real. There have been growing protests in Swat and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against what people say is the return of Taliban fighters. For its part, however, on August 14, the Inter-Services Public Relations issued a statement dismissing reports of the presence of militants as “grossly exaggerated and misleading”.

But a press conference on Wednesday, in Swat, by Special Assistant for Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif appeared to lend credence to the fears that the TTP have indeed returned.

These freshly arrived ‘militants’ are actually men just returning home. They are natives of these areas who had fled to live in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Nanganhar. They claim that they have returned following an agreement with the State, a claim the government has denied.

[In depth explainer: Internet shutdown in Swat continues for fourth week as militants make presence felt]

But on Wednesday Barrister Saif’s words seemed to confirm that this was indeed the case:

“We can sit down together and find a long-lasting, sustainable, legal, Shariat-compliant solution,” he said. “My request is to you and I am personally addressing you and you can assume I am speaking on behalf of all my sathis: you are Muslim, I am also a Muslim. You are Pashtun, I am also Pashtun. My request is that you send people back and we create an atmosphere of peace. Give us an opportunity to pursue peace.”

He spoke of the fighters who had gone to Afghanistan: “I will say to the people of Pakistan, that these ten to fifteen thousand people, our own people, who are on Afghanistan’s soil, Pakistani citizens… we have to find some way out for these people. Look, we can’t just say, oh they left, the criminals, convicts… We have ways, according to the Shariat, the Pashtun code, the law. We are civilized people. We have ways and means. You come, sit with us and we will forge a way that is dignified but a way that satisfies everyone, the entire nation. So my request is to Taliban representatives, my hope is that they will dwell on my proposal and request. And I hope that for the sake of peace they will seriously consider what I have said and act on it.”

This is a radical departure from what Barrister Saif had just said a week ago. He was reacting to the case of an attack on a school van when he said that no every incident can be attributed to the Taliban and that there was a difference between the TTP and Taliban.

The people’s appetite for such explanations may be wearing thin. On Wednesday unidentified gunmen shot dead a lawyer in Swat’s Kabal.