26 girls held hostage to settle loan dispute recovered in Karachi
Bajaur residents were found in Liaquatabad as part of an arrangement to settle a loan dispute
KARACHI:
Twenty-six girls, who were being held hostage in a house in Karachi as part of an arrangement to settle a loan dispute between the house-owner and a madrassa teacher, were recovered by police on Wednesday.
The girls, who only spoke Pashto, were residents of Bajaur and recovered from a house in the Liaquatabad area of Karachi. The provincial government has taken them into custody and will hand them over to their respective guardians after conducting investigations, Express News reported on Wednesday.
According to initial reports, the parents of the young girls had agreed to send their children to Karachi in a bid to provide better education for them.
Provincial minister for social welfare, women development and special education, Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani confirmed that the government is willing to bear the expenditures of these girls.
The house-owner had allegedly taken a loan from the madrassa teacher and gave them to the madrassa upon failing to repay the money. According to initial reports, the girls had not been properly fed for the past two days.
After the news broke, Muttahida Quami Movement lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui arrived at the house and met the girls. Earlier, MQM MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan said his party would take care of the girls until they are handed over to their guardians.
“We want the Sindh government to take notice of this action and bring those behind this act to book,” he demanded.
The lawmaker also said MQM had contacted the girls' tribal elders, who would be arriving in Karachi soon.
Expressing fears of what could possibly happen to these girls if they were not rescued, Hassan said the government should take immediate actions against unregistered and illegal madrassas in the city.
Twenty-six girls, who were being held hostage in a house in Karachi as part of an arrangement to settle a loan dispute between the house-owner and a madrassa teacher, were recovered by police on Wednesday.
The girls, who only spoke Pashto, were residents of Bajaur and recovered from a house in the Liaquatabad area of Karachi. The provincial government has taken them into custody and will hand them over to their respective guardians after conducting investigations, Express News reported on Wednesday.
According to initial reports, the parents of the young girls had agreed to send their children to Karachi in a bid to provide better education for them.
Provincial minister for social welfare, women development and special education, Rubina Saadat Qaimkhani confirmed that the government is willing to bear the expenditures of these girls.
The house-owner had allegedly taken a loan from the madrassa teacher and gave them to the madrassa upon failing to repay the money. According to initial reports, the girls had not been properly fed for the past two days.
After the news broke, Muttahida Quami Movement lawmaker Rauf Siddiqui arrived at the house and met the girls. Earlier, MQM MPA Khawaja Izharul Hassan said his party would take care of the girls until they are handed over to their guardians.
“We want the Sindh government to take notice of this action and bring those behind this act to book,” he demanded.
The lawmaker also said MQM had contacted the girls' tribal elders, who would be arriving in Karachi soon.
Expressing fears of what could possibly happen to these girls if they were not rescued, Hassan said the government should take immediate actions against unregistered and illegal madrassas in the city.