Two men linked with Taliban’s kidnapping-for-ransom wing arrested

ISLAMABAD:

Security agencies busted a group allegedly linked with terrorists and involved in kidnapping for ransom, source in the police and security agencies told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

Two of the nabbed men, allegedly linked with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were handed over to the city police for interrogations, the sources said.

However, two senior police officers denied knowledge of the arrests and of the subsequent transfer of custody of the suspects.

Muhammad Asif and Mohsin Khan, residents of Rawalpindi, were arrested in an Islamabad hideout and shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

The sources said the suspects were key members of the TTP’s kidnapping wing, which has been kidnapping wealthy businessmen from Rawalpindi and Islamabad for ransom.

According to the preliminary investigations the two men and their accomplices have been active in Islamabad for over two years.

As investigations were underway, there was no information available on the number of their victims or their identities.

Police intelligence reports revealed that kidnapping for ransom has been a major source of income for the TTP during the past few years.

Earlier, another splinter group of the banned organisation led by Asmatullah Muawiya was actively involved in kidnappings in the federal capital.

This group was found to be involved in the kidnapping of a number of businessmen including members of the Ahmadiya community and an inspector from the Islamabad police.

While the businessmen were released in return for billions of rupees in ransom money, the policeman remains untraceable.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2012.