Seeking reunion as ransom: Afghan police hands over kidnapped child at Torkham border

Father says kidnapper was homeless Afghan rickshaw driver

PESHAWAR: The Afghan police handed over the kidnapped child, identified as Omar Khitab, to the Peshawar police at Torkham border on Thursday. Khitab had been kidnapped from Banarasabad within the jurisdiction of Pishtakhara police station on July 28 and had been shifted to Afghanistan by the kidnapper.

Speaking to The Express Tribune Hayatabad ASP Wasim Riaz said they had contacted the Afghan police and reported that Rafiullah, a resident of Laghman area of Afghanistan, had kidnapped a four-year-old child.

The Afghan police arrested the accused and rescued the four-year-old. Khitab was later handed over to the Peshawar police at Torkham border who eventually returned him to his parents.

“We registered an FIR on August 3 and Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) and SSP Operations decided to contact the Afghan police about the incident as soon as possible,” Riaz said.

He added, when they were contacted, the Afghan police immediately arrested Rafiullah and rescued the child who was unharmed.

When contacted, Syed Muhammad, the father of the child, said he was an internally displaced person (IDP) from Waziristan and had rented a house in Banarasabad.

“The accused was a rickshaw driver whose wife, a resident of Charsadda, had abandoned him,” Muhammad said. He added, “Rafiullah used to park his rickshaw near our rented house and my son used to play with the vehicle.”

Khitab’s father said they often used to serve Rafiullah food since his wife had left him and he was homeless.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2016.