The father of taxi driver Muhammad Farooq has appealed to the chief minister for help in finding his son, who was kidnapped six years ago and allegedly ‘sold’ along with his vehicle to a man in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Malik Mukhtar said his son had been missing since a man named Yasin got into his taxi on December 5, 2006. He said the family had a case registered at Narang Mandi police station and looked everywhere for Farooq, but couldn’t find him.
“Our hopes were rekindled two months ago when we received information that Yasin had been arrested while attempting to sell another stolen taxi in Kassowal police limits,” he said.
He said Yasin was eventually shifted to Narang Mandi police station, where he had confessed to kidnapping Farooq. He had told the police that he had sold the driver and the taxi for Rs700,000 to a man named Iqbal Khan in FATA, said Mukhtar.
Yasin then phoned Iqbal Khan in FATA and set up a meeting with him at a hotel in Mianwali so the police could arrest him. Iqbal Khan was able to evade the police, but they arrested an alleged accomplice of his named Ibrahim. “The police later released Ibrahim without any reason,” said Mukhtar.
He said that Farooq’s mother had died “from grief” over her missing son last year. He appealed to the chief minister for help with finding Farooq.
Investigation Officer Rana Akram confirmed the details of the case as narrated by Mukhtar. He said Farooq may already have been killed.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 23rd, 2012.
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