Kidnapped by militants: Gone for years, but nowhere near forgotten

Families hope against hope to reunite with loved ones allegedly kidnapped by militants

PESHAWAR: Former deputy commissioner Advocate Zain Khan Khalil was out for his daily walk when he went through the harrowing experience of having a gun pointed at him. It later proved to be the least of his worries. 

Bundled into a vehicle by kidnappers on September 28, 2010, the Peshawar High Court Bar Association member has not been seen since. Though the chances that he is still alive remain slim, family members hope against hope to be reunited with him one day.

Enraged over the influential lawyer’s kidnapping, the legal fraternity raised their voice on several occasions through protests, yet law-enforcement agencies were unable to recover him.

A picture of former deputy commissioner Advocate Zain Khan Khalil who was kidnapped on September 28, 2010.

Khalil’s abductors took him to Khyber Agency and were demanding Rs20 million as ransom for his release. The demand later jumped up to Rs60 million.

On January 13, 2011, his family received a phone call that shattered their world. It was the kidnappers on the other end of the line, saying Khalil had been killed and his body lay in Jamrud.

After being contacted by the lawyer’s relatives, the Khyber Agency political administration did find a body in the area mentioned; just not that of Khalil’s. Over in Peshawar, police arrested a man named Shakil who acted as the middleman between the family and the militants.

Peshawar High Court Bar Association former general secretary Advocate Aminur Rehman says lawyers contacted the political administration of the tribal area and even the Peshawar corps commander.



Denial and acceptance

“We were later told by security forces that Zain Khan Khalil is dead,” Rehman adds. While his loved ones still hope the senior lawyer will come back alive and kicking, others have a more realistic approach.

“Others know the man is dead,” Rehman says. “Zain’s only fault is that he had wealth.”

The advocate is just one of dozens of examples of people kidnapped by militants, shifted to Khyber Agency and killed when the families are unable to pay the ransom. His story is unfortunately one of many similar tales of inevitable heartbreak.

Children and father of Constable Zahid who has been missing since August 2009.

Those left behind

In many of these cases, family members remain in the dark over the fate of their loved ones.

Advocate Bashir Ahmad, a resident of the suburban village of Achini Payan, was kidnapped on March 30, 2009.

“We were going to court in the morning; I was driving. Suddenly a 1998 model sedan blocked our way,” recalls Bashir’s son Advocate Fawad Ahmad

“I told them to take me with them, but they insisted they only wanted my father,” says Fawad. He recalls there were four kidnappers, including a driver.

“They subsequently called me from a public call office in Miranshah, demanding Rs100 million in ransom,” he adds. “They also wanted him to convert as we hail from the Ahmadi sect.”

He remembers the family managed to gather just Rs4 million which the kidnappers refused to accept. “They told us to sell off land, but I was unable to as my father was the legal owner and he had been kidnapped.”

After a month, the calls stopped coming.

“There was a local mufti who assured my cousin that he had enough influence over the militants and took Rs4.5 million from us,” Fawad says. “However, the middleman was killed by the servants of the same mufti and the amount vanished.”

Also yearning to be reunited with their fathers are the 19 children of Abdul Ghafoor, Constable Zahid and Hazrat Khan. The three were friends and belonged to Garhi Abdul Samad, Naguman area.

A picture of Abdul Ghafoor who was kidnapped from Afridi Road in Badhaber in August 2009.

“They went to Bara in Khyber Agency to meet a friend and were kidnapped from Afridi Road in Badhaber while they were on their way back to the city,” says Israr Khan, Ghafoor’s brother.

He adds the man is the father of nine children, including eight daughters.” Israr recalls the kidnapping occurred on August 20, 2009 and nobody has contacted the family since. “We remain uncertain over their fate.” He further reveals that Constable Zahid is the father of four children, including two daughters, while Hazrat Khan has six offspring.

Abdul Ghafoor’s children.

Whisked away

Ihsanullah Afridi, a resident of Sara Khwara Mattani, was kidnapped in June, 2008 and remains missing to this day.

He was just 24 at the time of his kidnapping and was probably killed by militants as the family could not pay the Rs20 million as ransom. Soon after, his uncle was also kidnapped but managed to secure his release by paying Rs8 million. After this series of events, the family left their plush bungalows on Kohat Road and migrated to Punjab.

“The family has been gone for years,” says a local resident, requesting anonymity. “Ihsan was probably killed as his father was unable to pay the ransom due to business losses, while his uncle paid whatever the family had for his own release.”

All those missing have left behind helpless parents, children or siblings who are, in all probability, hoping and praying for the day their loved ones walk through the door.

All the photos were provided by the families of those missing. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5th, 2015.