Interior ministry report: Punjab tops list of abduction cases

Province also has the most number of incidents of violence against women.

ISLAMABAD:
Punjab tops the disturbingly long list of criminal cases of kidnapping for ransom and violence against women in Pakistan.

According to official documents of the interior ministry tabled in the National Assembly by Interior Minister Rehman Malik during question hour about the law and order situation in the country on Wednesday, a total of 2,300 persons were kidnapped for ransom from 2007 to 2010 in the four provinces and 11,789 women were subjected to violence in the last two years between 2009 and 2010. Punjab topped in both categories.

Out of 2,300 cases of kidnapping for ransom in the country, 834 were reported in Punjab. Similarly, out of 11,789 cases of violence against women, 8,433 cases were reported in country’s largest province.

Islamabad, too, witnessed an increase in cases of kidnapping for ransom last year. As compared to 12 cases in 2007, a total of 23 persons were kidnapped in 2010.


In 2007, a total of 449 persons were kidnapped, but in the following year, 2008, the figure went up to 670 – an increase of 221 cases. In 2009, there were 645 cases.

A breakdown of the figures shows that, in 2007, Punjab saw 190 cases of kidnapping for ransom, followed by Sindh’s 134, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) 87, Balochistan 26 and Islamabad with 12 cases.

In 2008, of the 670 cases of kidnapping for ransom Punjab was once again at the top with 248, while Sindh had 217 cases, K-P 150, Balochistan 35 and Islamabad 20. In 2009, a total of 645 cases of kidnapping for ransom were registered, out of which 224 were in Punjab, 188 in Sindh, 180 in K-P, 37 in Balochistan and 16 were in Islamabad. In 2010, 604 cases were reported out of which 192 were in Punjab, 177 in Sindh, 162 in K-P, 50 in Balochistan and 23 were in Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2011.
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