Transporters celebrate productive traffic jam

KARACHI: Thirty-year-old Furqan, the manager of a transport company, was kidnapped from Kharadar, but released several hours later when transporters protested on Saturday.

According to Shakil, a member of the Transport Goods Association, Furqan was allegedly kidnapped by members of the Lyari Peace Committee. Transporters protested and halted traffic across the city to attract attention to the crime.

Police officials asked the president of the Transport Goods Association, Madad Khan Niazi, to allow traffic to proceed, saying that negotiations with the kidnappers were underway. However, Niazi refused to allow the protest to end until Furqan was returned safe and sound. Traffic stayed at a standstill for several hours in several areas of the city, including Hawkesbay, Keamari, Mauripur, Shershah, M A Jinnah road and I I Chundrigar road.

Concerned officials took the matter to a provincial minister, who intervened and secured the release of the kidnapped victim. On his safe return, Furqan was carried on the shoulders of transporters, who celebrated with songs and slogans and ended the traffic jam.

Shakil alleged that the same kidnappers had gunned down another victim in the month of Ramazan for not being able to pay ransom. They also believe that the Lyari Peace Committee was responsible for the kidnapping of Talat and Muhammed Niazi, who were released.

Transporters say that they have no enmity with any specific group and simply want an end to the increasingly common kidnappings. They believe that if they had not blocked the roads in protest on Saturday, Furqan’s family may have been forced to pay ransom, or he may have been killed. They expressed a desire to put an end to their people being an easy target for kidnappers.

Kharadar SHO Aurangzeb Khattak said that Furqan was picked up because he had failed to pay qisas of Rs500,000 to the family of a man who had died in a traffic accident.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2010.