‘Kidnapped’ Ukrainian woman recovered from Tharparkar

There were conflicting reports as to whether the woman was actually abducted

HYDERABAD: A Ukrainian woman allegedly kidnapped from Rawalpindi three years ago was recovered in a joint raid by the paramilitary Rangers and police from a village in Tharparkar district on Sunday.

According to police officials, 31-year-old Katrina was recovered from the Katho village of Khensar town, where she was allegedly held captive by Abdul Munaf Nohrio. They said the Rangers and police raided Nohrio’s residence on Sunday, arresting him and recovering the Ukrainian national.



Although police officially accused Nohrio of abducting Katrina, there were conflicting reports as to whether the woman was actually kidnapped.

Abdul Munaf Nohrio. PHOTO: EXPRESS

“Nohrio kidnapped Katrina from Rawalpindi in 2013 and brought her to his village, where he kept her as his wife,” SSP Sarfaraz Nawaz Sheikh told reporters following the raid. He said Katrina’s real Rawalpindi-based Pakistani husband lodged an FIR in 2013, claiming his wife was kidnapped.

Some police sources corroborated this account, saying Katrina had confirmed she was kidnapped, even though they admitted she could not speak English or Urdu fluently. They added that some days before she was rescued, the woman sent an email to the Ukrainian Embassy in Islamabad, which then approached the interior ministry for her recovery.



However, police officials did not explain why Nohrio’s family members were not arrested for abetting him.

According to one police source, Nohrio’s parents claimed their son worked in Rawalpindi for years and ‘bought’ Katrina from a relative of hers before marrying her and returning to the village in 2013. Confounding the situation further, Rawalpindi CPO Israr Ahmed Abbasi said that “it appears she ran away with Nohrio of her own free will.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2016.