Engineer kidnapped in Sudan is back home

Badin-native says three other captives were killed in front of him

KARACHI: Pakistani petroleum engineer, who was abducted by South Sudan rebels last month, reached home in Badin to a warm welcome by family members, relatives and locals.

Ayaz Jamali, along with his elder brother Babar Jamali, reached Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport via Qatar Airways early Sunday morning at around 8am from where they left for Badin, their hometown along with their family members, who came to receive him at the airport.

He remained contented and thanked Pakistan, Sudan and Ethiopia governments for playing their role in his release. He especially thanked chief rebel leader Riek Machar, on whose orders he and his two other Indian colleagues, were released from captivity on March 30.

Jamali while recalling the unfortunate event of March 19, the day he was abducted, said, “Rebels killed all three of my colleagues, who were natives of South Sudan, in front of me when we were returning from the oil wells to the camp.”



However, he added that they assured me that they won’t kill me and guaranteed my safe and sound release for being a citizen of a foreign country.

According to him, he is not in any kind of psychological pressure as the rebels kept him well along with two other Indian nationals, who were abducted earlier on March 9.

“They treated us well and did not subject us to any kind of torture since they believed that we are not their enemies,” he said. “They provided us with every facility at their disposal, including books, to pass time in their captivity.”

He remarked that the reason behind his abduction was to put pressure on the government of South Sudan and to convey their message to international community.

He said the area, where they were held captives was Pagak, near the Ethiopian border. “Upon release, the rebels handed us over to Ethiopian delegates, from where we travelled to a nearby town – Gambala,” he said. “We were then flown to Addis Ababa without our passports.”

Sudan delegates welcomed us in Addis Ababa from where we were flown to Khartoum in a private jet, where I met my elder brother and colleagues of a Lahore-based company, he said.

Jamali is the second last among five brothers and three sisters. His father is a retired government department driver and mother a housewife. He was grateful to his mother for praying for safe return.



As soon as he had graduated from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology in 2014, he left for South Sudan.

He believes that joblessness forced him to go to South Sudan for work. He had resigned before he was abducted and was to return to Pakistan on March 22.

Currently, Jamali is focused on his wedding, which is set to take place on 22nd in Karachi.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition Commander Bany Boumkouth, who abducted Jamali, told The Express Tribune via social media, “Ayaz is innocent and we are fighting for justice and human rights so we cannot kill any innocent person … We released him without any condition.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2017.