
LAHORE:
There is a possibility kidnappers may have carried out a lengthy reconnaissance before abducting US citizen Warren Weinstein, sources told The Express Tribune on Monday.
Ghullam Mehmood Dogar, the deputy inspector general for operations of the Lahore Police, said that the police was recommending to the Punjab home department to “compel all foreigners to get registered with the district police, respective provincial home departments or special branch”.
Dogar said that sponsors of foreigners would be held responsible to get them registered. He said that all foreigners’ residences should “have CCTV cameras, barbed wires, barriers and security guards”.
He said that SHOs would pay a visit to all foreigners’ residence to ensure appropriate security arrangements. He said that if the aforesaid measures were not taken, action would be taken against the sponsor.
Criticising Weinstein for not getting registered with police, he said that it was regrettable because he had been living in Lahore for so many weeks.
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Noland said at the daily press briefing that Pakistani authorities were investigating the case, adding that the Pakistani authorities were fully cooperating with the FBI and other personnel that the US has on the ground.
An official privy to various developments said there is evidence that the foreign national was abducted after keeping him under surveillance for a very long time. He said that abductors moved to kidnap Weinstein just when Model Town security guards were off for sehri.
Normally Model Town opens only one entrance for J block, but during this Ramazan, security guards opened the gates at 3am. He said that the guards gathered at a local market for sehri around 3:30. He termed the abductors’ move to use Barkat Market as their exit point ironic.
Model Town security in-charge Muhammad Saleem, who is a retired police officer, told The Express Tribune they have not yet been able to gather any evidence or procure any eye witness account.
Local residents, he said, had been complaining about installation of CCTV cameras, barbed wires and posting of private security guards at “house number 49-J and 68-C”, adding that when they tried to check, the house owners did not cooperate.
Saleem said that they had repeatedly conveyed their concerns to police, without getting any response.
He said that some seven months ago, they had gone to 49-J where they were told the house was being used for non-commercial purpose by one person. He said that no other detail was given. He said that the same was the case with 68-C.
A police official said that their inquiry currently is “revolving around three guards and a driver”. He said that the main reason for that was that all three guards were “well-trained army commandos, the question is why didn’t they retaliate? Or mount a credible defence”. He said that police do not have any other leads in this regard. He said that police was also awaiting for abductors to make any contact.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Weinstein had not been threatened and was working legally in the country, a colleague told AFP on condition of anonymity on Monday.
“We are unclear why Weinstein was kidnapped. We don’t know what the motives are,” said a senior Pakistani employee at JE Austin Associates, a Virginia-based consultancy firm for which the American works.
When asked to comment about claims that Weinstein did not inform Pakistani authorities about his presence in Lahore, the colleague said: “Weinstein was staying here legally. The authorities should have been aware of his presence.”
(Additional input from AFP and reporting by Huma Imtiaz in Washington)
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2011.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
who in their right mind stays in Model town.....should have been in DHA ...
@ abussamad - stop being an intolerant person who makes the rest of us Pakistanis look bad.
@abdussamad Get out of your wild anti-Americanism.
Making up conspiracy theories is the nations's favourite past time these days. It makes us feel as if we are in control of the situation, which is far from the truth. The kidnapping just reflects the sad and sorry state of affairs with in our governance and Law & Order agencies, it loudly announces the fact that No One is Safe in our beloved homeland.
@Ali: Stop brown-nosing the American jew.
MAybe this was not an anti-American action. Maybe this had to do with some deal gone bad?
@Incredible: Pakistan will make everyone CIA Agent. We are bunch of paranoids..... Anyway I dont agree he want threaten... did anyone read all the senseless response on ET since the day his kidnapping news broke? Just because he is a Jew we want to send him to hell so why be upset if they do the same with us?
@Usman: You have said it right. 13th August was a very sad and tragic day in the history of Pakistan. Warren Weinstein is a source of inspiration for all Pakistanis. When things are going from bad to worse, he has been the last man standing, doing his job trying to make Pakistan a better place to live. When many Pakistani thought they were not safe in their homeland, he was the one who made Pakistan his home. He has done instrumental work developing dairy, furniture, gems and jewelry, IT&Telecom and many other industries and has helped in creation of so many jobs for the poverty-stricken people of this country where the unemployment is high and the security situation is very bad.
Such people deserve honour and respect for their great contribution. They risk their lives for people of Pakistan and this is what they get in return. This is very tragic and shocking incident and brings bad name to Pakistan. I hope and pray he returns to his family safe and sound.
@Usman: You have said it right. 13th August was a very sad and tragic day in the history of Pakistan. Warren Weinstein is a source of inspiration for all Pakistanis. When things are going from bad to worse, he has been the last man standing, doing his job trying to make Pakistan a better place to live. When many Pakistani thought they were not safe in their homeland, he was the one who made Pakistan his home. He has done instrumental work developing dairy, furniture, gems and jewelry, IT&Telecom and many other industries and has helped in creation of so many jobs for the poverty-stricken people of this country where the unemployment is high and the security situation is very bad.
Such people deserve honour and respect for their great contribution. They risk their lives for people of Pakistan and this is what they get in return. This is very tragic and shocking incident and brings bad name to Pakistan. I hope and pray he returns to his family safe and sound. This country does not deserve heros like Warren Weinstein.
'Was working legally in the country' but yesterday's blogs were saying he is a CIA agent. Is ET correct or the Pakiistanis?
Warren , God is every where ,even in the HELL .
Day before yesterday it was a sad day in Pakistani history. A group of 8+ people kidnapped Warren Weinstein from his Home, early morning. It must be horrible to be pulled out of your bed at 3:30 a.m at gun point and dragged out to some unknown location.
Warren is one of the souls who has given so much to Pakistan. He has worked for the development of Dairy, leather, surgical goods, gems and Jewelry, wood furniture, Mango Exports, Horticulture and many other sectors. He worked on competitive development of Pakistani businesses. I believe that he has done more than most of the Pakistanis have done for Pakistan. He always has a positive approach to the current situation in Pakistan. He even used to tell other foreigners not to be paranoid and also used to tell them that, "look at me, I never need major security or protocols to move around". But I guess he was wrong! I would request you all to help and keep the momentum built on our governments and other agencies to find him soon so Warren can unite with his wife Elaine, family and friends, safe and sound.