Reappearance: ‘Not Kidnapped’

Lt Col (retd) Manzoor asks police to withdraw case registered by his wife.

LAHORE: The return of Lt Colonel (retired) Manzoor was shrouded in mystery as he claimed that he was not kidnapped and spent all the time at the shrine of Baba Bulley Shah in Kasur.

Manzoor asked the police to withdraw the case registered by his wife but he was not ready to back down from his earlier claim that he was being followed and that his life was at stake. Manzoor reappeared on Saturday at around 2 am informing his family that he had gone to Kasur as he was upset after losing his position of additional director land Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on December 25. He told the police that while he was at the shrine he had switched off his mobile phone.

Well placed sources inside DHA told The Express Tribune that this was a concocted story to regain his position of additional director land. The sources added that the basis of this plot was laid a few days back when Manzoor started informing people that he was being followed by some suspicious people and his life was in danger. They said that this was the reason his wife insisted on the fact that her husband had been abducted.

During his disappearance the DHA authorities had compiled a brief report in response to Mrs Manzoor’s allegation that her husband was forced to give up his position after he resisted on the purchase of an expensive piece of land from a Ghurki family. Sources in the DHA said that Manzoor being sacked for pointing out malpractices in DHA was a totally baseless accusation.

Mrs Manzoor said that she was not sure why her husband was not saying anything regarding the matter. She said that her husband had also decided to withdraw the case as he is insisting that he was roaming around on his own will.

ASP Maroof Wahla said that Manzoor was not ready to tell anything regarding the concerns he had raised earlier about his life being in danger and being followed by suspicious people.

The ASP said that the earlier charged his wife had made about his life being at stake after resisting a land purchase matter was not enough to substantiate the case, adding they required proper evidence first.

Wahla said that if Manzoor asked for security from the police they were ready to provide that as well.

Director Security DHA Lt Colonel Ahtasham said that the land purchase story was totally baseless and was created by Manzoor to regain his position.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2011.