BRADFORD, May 2: The family of a businessman feared kidnapped in Pakistan has made a desperate plea for his safe return.
Salman Sabir, 29, whose brother and fiancée live in Bradford, vanished in Karachi 11 days ago. His mobile phone has since been dead and his relatives are desperate for news.
Sabir, a clothing importer, spends his time between Bradford and Pakistan. He disappeared after arranging a business meeting on April 21.
Sabir has bought a house in Bradford and plans to live here after his marriage.
The Telegraph & Argus reported on Wednesday that his fiancee Noreen Akhtar, 27, of Aygill Avenue, Heaton, spoke to him by phone the day before he disappeared.
She told how Sabir was planning to return to the UK to make arrangements for their wedding.
Sharfuddin Memon, of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee, who is leading the investigation in Karachi, said that Sabir's disappearance was a mystery.
“I am working on the case and meeting the family every day.
“So far no call has come through and we are not sure it is a kidnap for ransom.
“He was with his uncle when he was dropped off by his driver. We do not know exactly where the meeting was.
“It is not very clear what has happened to him. Kidnapping does go on here but not much. It was a problem in the early 1990s but not so often now -- and not this way,” Memon said. He added that inquiries had not uncovered any business rivalry or jealousy surrounding Sabir.
Miss Akhtar, a sales assistant at the family business, Aziz Fashions, on Lilycroft Road, Heaton, Bradford, said Sabir was happy and well when she last heard from him.
On April 22, Miss Akhtar got a call from Sabir's brother Amir Aziz, of Heaton, to say her fiancee has gone missing.
Aziz was in Pakistan with his brother on business. He raised the alarm after his brother's driver told him of his disappearance.
Miss Akhtar is considering flying out to Pakistan to be closer to the search.
Aziz's wife Sheena, who runs Aziz Fashions with her husband, said: “Salman doesn't have any enemies. His family are well-respected business people.
“The police in Karachi say they believe he has been kidnapped and is being held captive for money. They are looking for him but they say it may take time. The family are desperately worried. He has just disappeared into thin air.
There is no word from his captors and his phone is dead.”
Mrs Aziz, the mother of two children, said her husband and father-in-law were “running backwards and forwards from the police station two or three times a day”.“His father is worried sick. It is the not knowing what has happened that really distresses us. We have reached the point where we would welcome any sort of news -- even contact from the kidnappers,” she said.
Zahid Iqbal, prospective parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives in the Bradford West constituency, has known Miss Akhtar and her parents for several years. He is trying to put pressure on the police and army in Pakistan to pull out all the stops to find Mr Sabir.—PPI
