Sanam Javed 'abducted' from Peshawar

FIR filed under Section 365 names unknown persons

PESHAWAR:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed was allegedly kidnapped from the provincial capital on Monday night, prompting Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to order an immediate police response and the registration of a First Information Report (FIR).

The Peshawar police on Tuesday filed a case near the Civil Officers' mess in the provincial capital.

The first information report (FIR) was filed by Javed's friend Hira Babar at Peshawar's Sharqi police station in the early hours of Tuesday.

Babar claimed in the FIR that she and the PTI activist were heading back after having dinner together on Monday during the latter's visit to the city when the "abduction" took place.

"Around 10:40pm, we were blocked by a green Vigo while we were heading back after having a dinner outside. We tried to turn back but a white car appeared from behind to intercept us," she told the police.

"Five men got out and attempted to force Sanam into their car. At this point, we started shouting for help, but the people in the surroundings, which included officers and security personnel, did not intervene," she said.

"The car took her towards the Red Zone," Babar claimed.

The FIR was filed under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Taking notice of the incident, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister's spokesperson said that "CM Ali Amin Gandapur has ordered an investigation into the incident," vowing to arrest those responsible.

"The culprits will be severely punished," he said, adding that the government was utilising all its resources to find the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the PTI, in a post on X, decried the alleged abduction as "shameful and deeply disturbing".

The party maintained that "such actions are a blatant violation of basic human rights and dignity, and they highlight the urgent need for accountability and justice."

Last night, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram had claimed on X that Javed was "pulled out of her car and taken away in front of her friends".

Javed has previously been named in several cases, including over a dozen May 9 cases for which she was incarcerated for a year until the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered her release last year in July.