Zardari's aide may have been kidnapped for ransom and taken to Afghanistan

Investigators no closer to knowing the truth, laments Sindh CM

KARACHI: The mystery surrounding the disappearance of three aides of former president Asif Ali Zardari deepened on Thursday when Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah indicated that one of them might have been kidnapped for ransom and taken to Afghanistan.

“A phone call has been received from Afghanistan for one of the [missing] men,” he said while talking to journalists at the Chief Minister House, indicating that the kidnappers might have demanded ransom.

Ghulam Qadir Marri, Ashfaq Leghari, and Nawab Leghari went missing last month, triggering a political storm, with the PPP suspecting that the aides of its co-chairman had been taken into custody by the ‘powers that be’.

The Sindh High Court has also been seized of a petition filed by Ismail Marri, seeking recovery of his brother, Ghulam Qadir Marri, and three members of his personal staff, who are also missing.



The law-enforcement agencies have failed to trace the whereabouts of the trio thus far, he said, adding that the latest development warranted intervention of the federal government to solve the mystery.

“Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar says that law and order is a provincial subject. I think this is a joint responsibility, and we all have failed in recovering these three men,” Shah said.

Responding to questions about political activities at the Governor House, the chief minister said, “Governor [Muhammad Zubair] should work within his domain. He should not pressurise people for votes. This is against the Constitution.”

Shah also advised the Sindh governor to visit other districts of the province. “He should also visit other districts of Sindh, rather than visiting only Karachi.”



Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the home department to constitute a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the disappearance of Ghulam Qadir Marri who has been missing since April 7.

Headed by Justice Mohammed Shafi Siddiqui, a two-judge division bench was hearing the petition of Ismail Marri, who sought the recovery of his brother and three members of his personal staff, including Khan Muhammad Mangi and two servants, Mehboob Ali Khashkheli and Javed Rehman.

The bench also directed the petitioner and others to record their statements before the JIT and sought progress report into the investigation by May 18.



The directives came after the police authorities informed the court that no clue about the whereabouts of Marri had been found yet.