Awaiting return: Two years on, families wait for miners release

There is no information about the men kidnapped from Kala Khel.

SHANGLA:

Families of coalminers kidnapped by unidentified militants in September 2010, have appealed to abductors to release the men on humanitarian grounds.

Thirty-two miners hailing from Shangla were kidnapped by militants on September 29, 2010 from their base camp in Kala Khel. The armed militants entered the camp at night and torched tents, machinery and generators before fleeing with the captives. Sixteen of those abducted managed to escape.



Relatives of the abducted men in Basiya, Belibaba and Shahpur villages claimed they last heard from the men on Eidul Azha. They (men in custody) said they were alive and militants had put them to work on digging trenches. Since then, no information about them has been received and there has been no responsibility claim.

Wazir Rehman, father of three missing brothers Sardar Hussain, Sardar Rahman and Imam Hussain said the incident has disrupted his family life, adding they were dependent on his sons’ earnings.

Families of the other missing men feel the same despair, desperately hoping and waiting for the safe return of their loved ones, Rehman added.

“Wives do not know if their husbands are alive or not. Children born after the disappearance do not know about their fathers,” Rehman said, adding that people do not want to talk about the issue fearing it might create problems for the kidnapped men.

Mohammad Rahman, father of one of the abducted miners, appealed to the kidnappers to set the labourers free for the sake of humanity and bring an end to their suffering.

Masha, one of the coalminers who managed to escape, said he along with eight other people overpowered three armed militants who were guarding them and ran away. He refused to comment further fearing that things may get worse for his colleagues in custody.

Various political leaders in Shangla, including Pakistan Peoples Party president for Malakand region Dr Afsarul Mulk, Awami National Party district office-bearer Said Fareen Khan, Sultan Roum Khan and Faiz Khan of the Qaumi Watan Party have frequently claimed to set up a meeting with the governor and chief minister to seek their help for the release of the coalminers. However, no concrete efforts have been made so far.

The missing men include brothers Sardar Hussain, Sardar Rahman and Imam Hussain, three other brothers named Said Aslam, Aman Khan and Qabil Muhammad, and Umar Rahman, Zahir Rahman, Mohammad Azam, Umar Mohammad, Sajid Gul, Dosham Gul, Bakht Shahzada, Dil Muhammad, Umarzada and Sherbaz.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2013.