Update
Terrorist organisation Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday released footage of a senior army officer and his brothers, were kidnapped from Dera Ismail Khan on Wednesday, and set out demands for the release of the Colonel.
The officer and his brothers were kidnapped from a mosque in their native area where they were receiving condolences on the death of their father.
In the videos, two of the abducted men first assured viewers that the men were “safe and sound, and far away from government-controlled areas.”
“We are in the custody of the Taliban. We request the government to accept their demands as soon as possible to ensure our release,” said the two men.
Interestingly, both men emphasised to their relatives not to post anything about their kidnapping on social media and only contact higher authorities to accept TTP’s demands.
Journalist Iftikhar Firdous revealed that the TTP has demanded the release of several TTP affiliates, including Latif Mehsud, who was jailed by the United States in Bagram in 2013, and Muslim Khan, who is the former spokesman of TTP in Swat.
Firdous also stated that Rs 30 million in ransom and some more TTP affiliates are included in the “demanded prisoners swap.”
In the footage, two militants can be seen standing behind the victims, bearing rifles.
There has been no official statement by the ISPR.
Previous
An army officer and two of his brothers were kidnapped on August 28 from Dera Ghazi Khan by unknown men while they were meeting with people who had come to offer condolences on their father’s death, Dawn News has reported.
The officer’s two brothers were serving in the Cantonment Board Head Office, Rawalpindi, and the other was working for the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Reportedly, they were in a mosque in Mohalla Khadr Khel of Kalachi tehsil, receiving people who’d come to offer their condolences on their father’s demise, when suspected militants came and forcefully took them away.
The three officers had come to their ancestral land for funeral prayers of their father, which was offered on Tuesday.
A few weeks ago, in a separate incident on August 1, a private security company’s van carrying Rs40 million was hijacked by armed suspects. The militants later released the hostages and fled with the cash.
Likewise, on April 27, District and Sessions Judge South Waziristan Shakir Ullah Marwat was abducted by unidentified kidnappers on Dera Ismail Khan’s Tank Road; however, he was later released. Journalist Azaz Syed alleged that the judge was released after the KP government paid five crores to terrorists as extortion.
