PESHAWAR, April 11: The police raided the house of prominent Pushto singer Gulzar Alam on Thursday night and detained his two sons in Tatara police station for about 10 hours on charges of kidnapping sons of an Afghan national, his relatives complained.

Family members of Mr Alam said a party of Tatara and Banamari police stations had raided his house in Kakshal.

They said the party picked up two sons of the singer — Salman, 22, and  Shan, 14, — and harassed other family members, including women, while Mr Alam was not in the city.

They said the police took the youngsters to Tartara police station where they were harassed.

Later, the police apologized, stating that there had been a misunderstanding, they said.

They said the police claimed that unidentified persons had abducted two sons of an Afghan national, Rozi Khan, in Hayatabad, and later telephone calls were received from Mr Alam’s house, demanding ransom for their release.

The police stations concerned, when contacted, expressed ignorance about the raid and detention.