Home at last: Kidnapped employees of university set free

A close relative of the two men praises Pir Pagara for securing their release.

SUKKUR: The two employees of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur, Maqbool Memon and Shakeel Memon, who had been kidnapped along with their driver, Akram Phulpoto, from near Shikarpur on August 24, safely reached home on Saturday night.

The two brothers, Maqbool and Shakeel, along with their driver, had been travelling to Pir Jo Goth from Madeji when they had gone missing near Shikarpur. Their car was found abandoned on the outskirts of Larkana after a couple of days, but the whereabouts of the missing persons could not be ascertained.

The kidnapped brothers’ maternal uncle, Faheem Memon, quoting his nephews, told The Express Tribune that the kidnappers had dropped them off at a link road near Shikarpur after which they had boarded a bus and arrived in Sukkur. Faheem added that his nephews had contacted them from Sukkur after which they had been brought back to Pir jo Goth and reunited with their family.

Sharing details of their ordeal, Faheem told The Express Tribune that a group of armed men had intercepted his nephews’ vehicle between the railway crossings near Lakhi Ghulam Shah and kidnapped them at gunpoint. Faheem reported that the kidnappers had taken them to a dense forest where they were kept along with cattle.

He added that the kidnappers used to shift their hideout frequently to dodge the police. The employees were residents of the native village of Pir Sahib Pagara and their uncle had appealed to him for intervention. Highly appreciating the efforts of Pir Pagara, he said that Pagara had contacted all the Sardars and influential people of the area in a bid to secure the release of the kidnapped persons. He said that it was because of the respect and influence of Pir Pagara that the kidnappers had released the kidnapped persons without taking any ransom.

Shakeel and Maqbool are employees of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur and their in laws live in Madeji. Shakeel Memon works at the post of sports ground supervisor with the Plantation and Nursery Department and Maqbool Memon is employed as an office assistant in the office of Works Project Director.

The SALU Khairpur vice-chancellor, Dr Parveen Shah, Registrar Abdul Ghaffar Shah and Media Coordinator Dr Taj Lashari, expressing their joy over the safe return of their employees, said that their safe return had ended the worries of their families and the other SALU employees.

Thanking the Sindh government for their safe and early release, they said that the university employees were grateful to the provincial chief minister who had taken personal interest in the case.

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