Safe and sound: Kidnappers free ANP leader and Kasi tribe chieftain

Arbab released by his kidnappers on the outskirts of Peshawar

QUETTA:

An Awami National Party’s leader and chieftain of Kasi tribe, Arbab Zahir Kasi, has been released by his kidnappers after almost a year in captivity, party colleagues and family said on Sunday. Arbab Zahir, one of Quetta’s most well-known and respected tribal chieftains, was kidnapped by gunmen from a downtown area of the provincial capital on October 23, 2013.

Arbab was released by his kidnappers on the outskirts of Peshawar, head of ANP’s Balochistan chapter Asghar Achakzai said. “I have talked to Arbab Zahir… he is in good health and high spirits,” he told The Express Tribune. “He has been moved from Peshawar to Islamabad, where he will meet his family and party leaders.”

The ANP provincial chief denied any ransom was paid to secure Arbab’s release. “I would say the kidnappers had mercy on Arbab Zahir… we did not pay any ransom and he was not recovered in any search operation or raid by security or law-enforcement agencies,” Achakzai said. “Tribal elders and religious clerics played key role in securing the release of Arbab,” he added.

According to Arbab’s son, the kidnappers had demanded Rs1 billion in exchange for his father’s release. Talking to The Express Tribune, Arbab’s family sources said that while they did not pay kidnappers Rs1 billion, they still had to pay around ‘a couple of million rupees’. On record, however, Arbab’s family denied paying any ransom.

The Balochistan home department, meanwhile, said it was unaware of the development. “I saw the report on news channels and a message circulated among mediapersons. But I cannot confirm his release until I talk to Arbab Zahir Kasi,” Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2014.