G-B minister abducted by militants returns home

Abaidullah Baig, a minister in Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government, returned home on Saturday after the authorities secured his release in negotiations with the militants who abducted him along with his companions.

The militants had demanded the release of their jailed accomplices within two or three days, threatening the government to not expect “any mercy” if they failed to do so. They had also blocked Babusar Road, a major linkway between G-B and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

The minister, who was accompanied by foreign tourists, was stranded there. He, along with others, was later abducted and shifted between locations.

Reportedly, the blockade was imposed by militants led by Habibur Rehman, a wanted militant commander in G-B, who is also accused of the murder of 10 foreigners at Nanga Parbat. They were pushing for the release of their accomplices, and these included those who were apprehended in the same murder case besides others.

Citing the spokesperson of the government, a local news outlet reported that the negotiations were underway at a jirga in Thak Jal.

Meanwhile, in an audio interview, purportedly of the minister emerged, wherein he said that negotiations were underway, and the militants had asked for the release of their accomplices and the imposition of Islamic laws, particularly a ban on women’s sports activities.

Faizullah, the spokesperson said that the minister was held in a house for six hours and was released along with his companions at 3am.

Rehman, who is supposedly the key figure in this incident, escaped from a jail in Gilgit in 2015, about two years after his arrest in 2013. His accomplices are currently incarcerated in Punjab, awaiting a trial in a military court. While the militant commander remained elusive for years, he returned to the public eye on July 7, 2021, as he held an open court in the Diamer district.