GZD workers: Families ask chief minister to take notice, expedite recovery

Hold protest at Peshawar Press Club, fear militants would kill their loved ones.

PESHAWAR:

Families of the eight abducted Gomal Zam Dam workers have asked Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice (CJ) to expedite efforts to release the kidnapped men.

The families gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club on Monday holding placards inscribed with slogans demanding justice and requesting Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and PHC CJ Dost Muhammad Khan to take notice of the apathy of the authorities towards the workers’ recovery.

They said despite the passage of almost 11 months no steps have been taken to release their family members from the militants’ hold.

Salma Bibi, the daughter of one of the workers, said: “We don’t know whether we will be able to get them back alive or not because no one is taking interest in their release.” She lamented the kidnappers have released a video and threatened to kill them one by one if the ransom is not paid.

“We are poor people and after the kidnapping we have lost our only source of income. How can we pay ransom or fulfil their other demands?” she said on behalf of all families.



Faisal Akbar, brother of one of the victims, said despite the fact the PHC has taken notice of the matter, authorities seem least bothered to take action.

Employees of the Water and Power Development Authority, the men had been working on the Gomal Zam Dam project. They were abducted by militants on August 15, 2012 while they were on their way to DI Khan from South Waziristan.

On July 5 this year, militants released a video of the workers threatening to kill them if their demands, which include ransom and the release of high-profile militants, are not met.

A PHC division bench is also hearing the case and has issued directives to authorities to recover the workers, yet little headway has been made so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2013.