TOBA TEK SINGH: Mirza Masih, of Gojra village Chak 310-JB, Bhopalwala, refused on Saturday to receive and bury the body of his son, Ahmad Baba, alleged Taliban militant, who was killed in Lalamusa by Gujrat police in an encounter late on Thursday.

Mirza told reporters on Saturday he had cut off ties and relation with his son who previously known as Piyara Masih had converted to Islam in 2009 when they were servants at the farms of a leading man of the Ahmadi community of Chak 312-JB, Kathowali.

According to police, after embracing Islam at the hand of some religious extremist, Piyara Masih changed his name as Ahmad Baba and disappeared from the area. He reportedly got training from the Taliban in North Waziristan. He fought in Afghanistan and was injured in clashes with the Afghan forces. After returning from Afghanistan, he developed relations with the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan, Gujrat chapter.

Ahmad Baba with his Gujrat accomplice, Afzal Fauji, kidnapped his former master Mubarik Ahmad Bajwa on Oct 27 in 2009 and demanded a Rs2 million ransom for his release. The family of Bajwa got registered a case against unidentified men for kidnapping him. The kidnappers later killed Bajwa when they failed to get ransom and dumped his body in Gujrat.

Aziz Bajwa, brother of deceased Mubarik Bajwa, said they were shocked when they came to know on Thursday that Ahmad Baba was the mastermind of kidnapping and killing of his brother. The body of Ahmad Baba was buried in Gujrat declaring as derelict.

Published in Dawn December 21th , 2014