In the wake of the spill over of militancy, kidnapping mostly for ransom, particularly in the capital of the Frontier Province, Peshawar, has become another major security issue. During the past several months many cases of high profile kidnappings were reported. In several cases, foreign diplomats or media persons were kidnapped.

It is obvious that increasing militant attacks against law enforcement agencies have weakened the police department and other security forces. It provides an opportunity to criminals and outlaws. They feel free while carrying out their activities. However, the Taliban too are responsible for many cases of high profile abductions.

Some of the important kidnap cases include that of Pakistani Ambassador, Tariq Azizuddin, who was picked up from Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency, while he was on his way to Kabul in February this year. He was freed after several months after paying a huge amount as ransom and release of some senior militant commanders. Reportedly, Tariq was kidnapped by Taliban and kept in the remotest valley of Khyber Agency, Tirah.

Shakir Ishaq, a Peshawar-based industrialist was kidnapped from posh University Town area in Peshawar on April 18, who is still missing. His family and some political and trade organisation staged many protest demonstrations to press the government for his safe recovery but to no avail.

Two Chinese engineers, Zhang Guo and Long Xiao Wei, along with their security guard and driver, , were picked up by the Taliban on August 29. The two were working as telecom engineers and stationed in the north-western Dir Lower district of the NWFP. Maulana Fazlullah-led militants of scenic Swat valley not only claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the Chinese, but also presented them before media. They demanded release of 136 Taliban prisoners in exchange. The guard and driver were freed on September 15 unconditionally, while one of the engineers, Zhang Guo, managed his escape and was airlifted by army from Matta tehsil of Swat valley. The other, Xiao Wei too tried to escape, but he slipped down a mountain and was recaptured by the Taliban. He is still in their captivity.

Afghanistan’s Ambassador-designate to Pakistan, Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was picked up by militants from Hayathabad, while his driver Khalid was killed when he showed resistance. No clue about Farahi could be found till date.

It was two days later that the kidnapping of Mr Farahi, a senior reporter associated with The News International Javed Afridi, was kidnapped by a local group for ransom. The abductors fired bullets on him to stop his speedy car on the night between September 24-25. After 25 days of his captivity Javed managed to escape from the kidnappers, who were demanding a huge sum of Rs. six million as ransom for his release.

Liaqat Ali, father of Town-I Nazim Shaukat Ali was picked up from Dabgari on the morning of 26 September. He is still in the captivity of the kidnappers.

A professor of Kabul-based Aryana University, Abdul Haq, was also kidnapped, while he was coming to Peshawar from the Afghan capital. Nobody knows about his whereabouts since his disappearance in the last week of October.

Ziaul Haq, the younger brother of Afghan Finance Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi, went missing from Hayatabad on October 31. Ziaul Haq was served in a non-governmental organisation in Pakistan.

Three days later on November 3, another Afghan official, Akhtar Kohistani, who served as adviser to the Ministry of Rural Development, was picked up by unidentified armed men from the house of his in-laws in the remote Chitral district.

Besides the kidnappings of such high profile personalities, two American officials came under attack in the capital city of NWFP during the last five months. The first incident took place when the principal officer of the American Consulate in Peshawar, Lynn Tracy was ambushed by unknown attackers near her residence in University Town area. She, however, escaped unhurt.
While in the second incident, chief of a part of a USAID-funded Livelihood Project for tribal areas, Stephen D Vance, was attacked and killed along with his Pakistani driver in the same area on November 12. A Canadian journalist, Khadija Abdul Qahar, was kidnapped from Bannu district of the Frontier province the same day. She was on her way to Miramshah when kidnapped along with her translator and personal assistant.

The very next day the commercial attaché of the Iranian Consulate in Peshawar, Heshmatollah Attarzadeh, was abducted after gunmen killed his bodyguard in Hayatabad.

Another failed attempt of kidnapping was made at a Japanese journalist, Motoki Yotsukura, and his Afghan fixer, Sami Yousafzai, in Hayatabad area. They and their driver escaped the attempt on their life, but all of them sustained bullet injuries.

These are only a few of the high profile cases of kidnappings. There are many others that do not gain much attention as the kidnapped ones belong to middle and lower middle class. “We have almost one persons kidnapped by local outlaws from every home,” said a senior police official while talking to PIPS.

There is a wrong perception that the Taliban are behind all the kidnapping cases. But the fact is that Taliban kidnap only high profile targets to have their demands accepted, while in most of the kidnapping cases local outlaws and criminals are involved, who got the chance to expand their activities when the police and law enforcement agencies were either weakened due to the suicide bombings or remained busy in activities against militants.

With the rise of Taliban and their activities against anti-social elements, particularly in Khyber Agency and semi-tribal region of Darra Adamkhel, the gangsters either became silent or joined the ranks of Taliban making the pledges that they have given up their previous activities and would now work under the Taliban command. But several incidents show that these gangsters did not leave their criminal activities. The example of Tor, a notorious gangster of Darra Adamkhel, is the best. Before joining the Taliban, Tor had committed all kinds of crime including murders, hired assassinations, kidnappings for ransom, car snatchings and so on and so forth. He himself had confessed to the murder of 31 people before joining the Darra-based Taliban. When Taliban appeared in Darra after they killed another notorious gangster Amir Said alias Charg, Tor went to the Taliban and swore that he would not repeat his criminal activities.

The Taliban welcomed him to their ranks and gave him the important responsibility of executing those awarded punishment by the Taliban. Several months later Tor made a financial fraud with the Taliban for which he was captured and during interrogation he confessed to the killing of seven more people during his association with the Taliban for which he was executed.
Other outlaws, who refused to join the Taliban, joined anti-Taliban squads formed by the government, which became another major security risk. As before joining the anti-Taliban squads, they had to carry out their activities secretly. Now they can openly brandish arms in public and carry out their criminal activities for the government has awarded them permits.

Certainly there are independent groups operating even today in various parts of the province. Interestingly these groups are active in settled areas of the province, particularly around Peshawar. These independent groups are the most dangerous , as they enjoy support of some white collar influentials. These groups are behind most of the kidnapping cases.

The issue of kidnapping is complicated because people are picked up from Peshawar and taken to the tribal areas. Neither police in settled areas accept responsibility nor the political administration and paramilitary forces in the tribal areas to recover them and bust the gangs.
What the government needs to do is to form a special force to combat the menace of kidnappings and give it full powers.