‘My son is not a spy’: Two abducted boys seen in Lashkar-e-Islam video

They have been accused of spying and working for CID by the militants.

PESHAWAR:

Two teenage boys, who disappeared from Sheikhan village nearly two weeks ago, were seen in a video released by banned outfit Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) in Bara, Khyber Agency.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Rehmat Sher said his son Sajjad Khan went missing along with his friend Manzoor Hussain one Sunday evening and the families have not been able to locate them since.

“I have a broken spine and cannot walk, but other family members tried their best to find them. We are really poor and never thought our boys could be kidnapped,” he said, adding they were shocked when LeI released a video last week with Sajjad featuring in it.

“There are two bodies in the video whose heads have been severed and put on stones, while my son Sajjad has been shown talking to militants who accuse him of working for the CID and the government,” he said. Manzoor was not visible in the video, but the family suspects he is also in the custody of the militants.

Manzoor’s father Waris Khan, 65, said his son had a donkey cart which was the only source of income for his family. “I have three sons and Manzoor is the youngest.  I would see him with Sajjad many times, but one Sunday evening they just disappeared,” he said, adding both the boys were barely 14 years old.

“With my income I could not provide for the whole family which forced my school going children to earn a living,” he said, insisting that his son is not a spy.

“We fear they could be killed, but we don’t know how to reach the militants. We are scared of other people in the family being abducted too,” Khan added.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2013.