February 23, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 24, 1427

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KOHAT, Feb 22: The DIG Kohat region, Abdul Majeed Marwat, on Wednesday asked the elders of Shia and Sunni communities to immediately release the people kidnapped in Hangu on the Ashura day, saying the issue was the main hurdle in moving the peace process forward.

“A delay in the release of the kidnap victims can affect the fragile peace achieved through strenuous efforts,” he said at a jirga held here in Ustarzai area.

The DIG said that according to the government information a petrol pump owner, Niazmeen, was in the custody of local people and added that without his release peace efforts could not make progress.

Syed Mahtabul Hassan, nazim of the Ustarzai union council and chairman of the Ittehad Bainul Muslimeen, denied the charge. He said if the victim was recovered from their area they would themselves hand over the kidnappers to the government.

The elders urged the DIG to also ensure the recovery of a person, Liaquat, who had been kidnapped from Landi Kachai. They said that Surat Ali, who had been accused of kidnapping Mr Niazmeen, was innocent.

The DIG asked SSP Ishtiaq Marwat and ASP Abdul Kareem to take measures against the accused if he failed to release the victim within two days.

Maulana Jawadi, a renowned Shia scholar and khateeb of the Hangu district, regretted that despite repeated requests made to the home secretary, IGP and DIG few efforts had been made for the recovery of the three people kidnapped on both sides.

Talking to Dawn, he said that Kamran and Shahid went missing soon after the bomb blast. He said the main task before the elders of the communities was to constitute a reconciliatory committee to restore normalcy so that people could resume their business activities without any fear of violence.

About the status of the peace committee formed by NWFP Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani under the chairmanship of Senator Gul Naseeb, Maulana Jawadi said its job was to broker a temporary ceasefire between the warring factions. He emphasised that the issues of fixing a new date for the Muharram procession, which was postponed after the Feb 9 suicide blast, recovery of the missing people, payment of compensation to the bereaved families and the business community, sectarian harmony and security arrangements for the forthcoming Nauroze festival and chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) could only be solved through a joint jirga.