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The Tree That Has Been Under Military Arrest And In Chains For More Than 100 Years For Evasion

A British military officer made a very unusual arrest in Pakistan at the end of the 19th century that is still in effect today

Andrew Martin
2 min readJan 6, 2024

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Generally, when a person is placed under arrest, they know they are in some kind of trouble, regardless of their eventual guilt or innocence. But what then of inanimate objects that are taken into custody? Although not common, perhaps the most bizarre example of this occurred more than 100 years ago when a British military officer arrested a tree for failing to stop for him, and it has remained in the same chains it was placed in ever since.

Located in the small town of Landi Kotal near the Torkhan border in Pakistan is a truly strange landmark that has been attracting the attention of tourists and locals alike for more than a century. The Chained Tree of Peshawar, situated at the Khyber Rifles Officers Mess on Landi Kotal Way, has an intriguing origin that dates back to 1899 when a British military officer named James Squid made the tree an unwitting part of history.

While heavily inebriated, Officer Squid became convinced that the tree was attempting to evade him as he stumbled towards it, Enraged by the apparent disrespect…

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Andrew Martin
Andrew Martin

Written by Andrew Martin

Dabbler in soccer, history, investing & writing. Master’s degree in baseball history. Passionate about history, diversity, culture, sports, film and investing .

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