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| India-Pakistan |
| Peshawaris face kidnapping for ‘religious’ reasons |
| 2008-06-25 |
| Militants operating in Khyber Agency have started kidnapping people for social and religious reasons, Daily Times learnt on Tuesday. Police sources told Daily Times that Peshawar has always been prone to kidnapping for ransom due to its proximity with the Tribal Areas, but with the sway of militant outfits in Khyber Agency, a new kind of kidnapping for religious and social motives has grown. Many involve Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh in solving disputes, who meets with the complainant and defendant to settle problems. The LI chief charges both parties 2 percent of amount of money involved in monetary disputes. The sources said that militant outfits LI and Amar Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar were taking actions on public complaints submitted through applications. They said that these outfits wanted to eliminate compact disk (CD) businesses and other un-Islamic activities on religious grounds. “They usually warn someone involved in an un-Islamic activity and if he does not refrain himself, then they abduct him. If the kidnapped person guarantees that he would stop the practice, then they let him free,” they said. Abduction: The groups have abducted dozens of people including those associated with black magic, amulets, prostitution and others, and freed them after they guaranteed in writing that they would not indulge in such activities in future. Amar Bil Maroof kidnapped two PESCO officials over the amount of load shedding in the area, but released them soon after. Sources also said that kidnapping of 16 Christians from Academy Town was carried out due to the fact that they were living in a compound, which had previously housed a madrassa and the kidnappers wanted the place to be given to Muslims. LI armed men had taken the kidnap victims to Bara and they were freed on Sunday, while a Muslim who rented the house to the Christians is still in their custody. The NWFP government suspended several police officials after the kidnapping incident including City Police Chief Attaullah Wazir. While the government was quick to take action against the police, it is yet to take action against political authorities of Khyber Agency, where such attacks originate. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |