PESHAWAR - The relatives of a kidnapped Additional Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Ramzan have criticised the government for not taking serious steps for his recovery.
They appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari, provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, and human rights organisations to play their role for early and safe recovery of the bureaucrat.
Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Monday, Mohammad Salman Shehzad, elder son of the kidnapped, informed that his father had been kidnapped from Karachi on September 19, 2012 for taking part in training of senior management course organised by National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) on September 16. Flanked by his uncle Zia-ul-Haq, younger brothers and other relatives, he further said that the family members had regularly contacted on telephone but since Oct 19, his phone remained off and when contacted the officials of National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) that he had gone on leave.
Four days later of his kidnapping someone made a call on his uncle Zia-ul-Haq’s cellular number that my father was not on leave by he had been kidnapped,” he said.
Salam further explained that the kidnappers demanded Rs15 million as ransom for his release and warned that in case of non-payment they would harm the kidnapped victim. He added “My father is not allowed to tell us the details but he once talked for a short time and asked us to make efforts for his release,”
Initially, he said the kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs5 million but when the news stories appeared in media that he was a bureaucrat then they increased the demand to Rs15 million and also change their tone.
Salam said that his father also had charge of additional secretary prisons and represented the government in the missing persons’ cases in the courts but even then the government did not pay any attention to recover such a senior bureaucrat.
“I had sent applications to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor Barrister Masood Kausar, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti to give us time so that we could apprise them of our grievances but the CM did respond,” he said and added that the governor called them to the Governor House and just assured his moral support.
He warned that in case government did not recover his father, his family members would block the Peshawar-Rawalpindi Road at Jahangira on Thursday and hold a demonstration outside Chief Minister House on Friday. “We will commit collective suicide outside CM house on Saturday,” he added.