May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

TOBA TEK SINGH, May 7: A senior district bar association member was allegedly kidnapped for Rs10 million ransom at Mardan in the NWFP on Tuesday.

According to reports reached here on Wednesday, Chaudhry Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, also a marble factory owner, his son Muzammal and driver Azam went to purchase marble from Mardan. On their way back, their car was intercepted by four people a few kilometers out of the town.

The accused tied with ropes Ghani’s son and driver and took away the DBA member along with his car and Rs40,000 cash. After some time, they came back and released the driver and the trader’s son. The accused asked them to bring Rs10 million for the release of Mushtaq Ghani.

A source told this correspondent that his family had contacted PML-N central secretary-general Senator Iqbal Zafar Jhagra and former NWFP chief minister Pir Sabir Shah through party’s Toba secretary-general advocate Rana Muhammad Anwar for the recovery of Mr Ghani.

Meanwhile, district bar association members observed a complete strike on Wednesday over the kidnapping of the lawyer and demanded of the government to immediately recover him.

WHEAT SEIZED: A Passco team seized a truck laden with 250 maunds of wheat which was being smuggled to Faisalabad from Toba district on a fake permit on Wednesday.

According to Nawan Lahore police, accused Dilber Husain was smuggling wheat when a team intercepted him near Chiraghabad locality on Jhang-Faisalabad Road and arrested him.