RAWALPINDI: In his complaint with the Waris Khan police, a spare parts dealer has said he received a call from Afghanistan during which the caller threatened him and demanded money.

The victim said he had received similar calls in the past as well during which he was threatened and told to bring money to Afghanistan.

In his FIR, the spare part dealer, who lives in the Hukamdad Mohallah, said his son received the first of the calls on his mobile phone three years ago. The caller had identified himself as Qari Ali and had demanded money which he wanted to be brought to Afghanistan in three days.

The victim said that because his family had been threatened, he travelled to the Torkham border and met Qari Ali who asked to be paid Rs800,000 as donation for jihad.

In his FIR, the complainant said he told Qari Ali he could only pay Rs30,000. Qari Ali took the money and let the complainant go.

The second call was made in August 2015 with the caller identifying himself as Qari Abdullah and demanding the victim bring money to Afghanistan again.

When he went to Afghanistan, the victim pleaded with Qari Abdullah to let him go as he could not come up with the money. He was let go after paying Rs15,000.

The third and most recent call was made on June 17 of this year, in which the victim was once again threatened and told to come to Afghanistan.

The complainant said he felt like he had no options other than seeking the police’s help and lodged an FIR with the Waris Khan police on Thursday and an investigation into the matter is yet to be launched.

When asked, Sub-Inspector Tariq Saeed said he will get in touch with the victim and will obtain his phone records for investigations.

Many traders, especially those dealing in old spare parts, have been receiving extortion calls for the last many years and the majority of them have not involved the police in the matter.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2016