‘Chagha Party’ recovers three kidnapped boys in Tank

Locals arrest one of the kidnappers and hand him over to police

TANK:

A local peace committee, traditionally known as ‘Chagha Party’ on Tuesday recovered three people who had been kidnapped at gunpoint from Tank district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Local residents told The Express Tribune that three friends were searching for wild honey in Manzai, Tank district where they were kidnapped by the armed men. When local villagers were informed, they raised a ‘Chaga Party’ or a tribal lashker and started chasing the kidnappers. Police were also informed about the incident but it was not quick enough to reach the spot and local residents started the chase on their own.

“We chased the dacoits and tried to encircle them but in the forest of Kari Haider two of the boys were found left behind by the kidnappers and after a search, the third boy was also found safe and sound,” said a local resident, adding that the kidnappers managed to escape once again.

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“These bandits are not ordinary ones. They are really hard nuts to crack. A month ago they established a checkpoint along the main road outside Tank city and started robbing people. A Chagha Party was formed by the locals to deal with them and they were given a chase for at least seven hours by at least 200 fully armed members of the Chagha Party but the bandits were able to keep the lashker members at a safe distance all the time till they reached the mountains,” said another local resident.

“Once on the home ground they disappeared in the mountains. You don’t want to be lured into a trap by these hardened criminals. So the chase was abandoned and the Chagha Party returned,” he said.

He said that all the three recovered boys were handed over to police who registered an FIR against the unidentified kidnappers and started an investigation. Locals also arrested one of the kidnappers and handed him over to police.

Locals blamed that police had no presence after the nightfall and in the far-flung areas since the start of militancy in 2007 and the bandits were roaming freely across the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2021.