ISLAMABAD: Abdul Ghaffar, 74, the father of one of the 23 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel killed by the outlawed Taliban in Mohmand Agency, has the last wish of his life - to see the body of his son Lal Zarin.

The distraught man from the Karak district of KP exhausted all efforts to get his son released after he along 34 other FC men was kidnapped by militants from the Shinkorai checkpost of Mohmand Agency on June 13, 2010.

“For the last four years, I have been running from pillar to post to recover my son. I begged the security personnel and the Taliban leaders but nobody listen to me. Now when they have killed my son I want to have the last glimpse of his face. I want to bury him near my home,” the old man, who has not yet informed his wife and children about the tragedy, told Dawn on Monday.

Lal Zarin’s youngest son was just two months old when he was captured by the Taliban. “Now Furqan Ahmed has turned three but has not seen his father. For years I have been promising his children that I will bring their father home. But I badly failed,” Mr Ghaffar said in a choked voice.

Out of the 35 FC men, Taliban beheaded two the day they were kidnapped while three of them later escaped the confinement. “One of the FC soldiers who escaped belonged to the Lachi tehsil of Kohat,” added Hikmatullah, the brother-in-law of Lal Zarin.

After getting lukewarm response from security agencies, parents of the kidnapped FC personnel sent a tribal jirga to the Mohmand Taliban in 2011 for handing over of their sons. However, the TTP insisted that they would release the prisoners in exchange for their commanders held by security forces.

“Neither the military officials paid us any heed nor the Taliban were ready to free our sons without the bargain. When we lost all hopes, we joined the ranks of those calling for the recovery of the missing persons,” the father of another FC man told Dawn seeking anonymity as he was of the view that some of the kidnapped soldiers were still in the custody of the Taliban alive.

“The confusion is that so far the names of those killed have not been made public. But we are sure that seven of the 30 soldiers are still alive and are in the custody of Taliban. But we have been told by our sources that Lal Zarin has been killed,” his old father said.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) through an SMS sent to mediapersons said the killing of the FC soldiers by terrorists in their captivity was a blatant act of terror. “These are highly condemnable and provocative acts,” the SMS from the mobile phone number of Brig Attiqur Rehman stated.

It said the Taliban’s allegation that their men had been killed in custody by security forces was baseless and a mere propaganda to justify their dastardly acts of terror.