QUETTA: Former secretary of Balochistan Higher Education Abdullah Jan returned home on Wednesday after spending a little over four months in captivity.
Mr Jan and his driver were on their way to work on March 15 when they were taken away by three armed men who held them at gunpoint on Brewery Road. They let the driver go later.
The kidnappers took Mr Jan to an undisclosed location after releasing the driver near Sariab Road. The driver informed the secretary’s family about the incident after he reached home.
According to Mr Jan’s nephew Essa Tareen, his maternal uncle had returned home after more than four months. “The entire family is very happy on my uncle’s safe return,” he told Dawn.
Mr Jan’s son Atiqullah said that the kidnappers had left his father in the Nushki area which is nearly 160km from Quetta.
“After he was released, my father asked a motorcyclist for a ride from Nushki and then got home in a car,” said the 35-year-old government officer.“When he was in captivity, the kidnappers kept my father in one room for months,” he added.Atiquallah denied that the family paid any sort of ransom for Mr Jan’s release.
“We have not paid any ransom for the release of Abdullah Jan,” his son claimed, adding that he was glad his father had returned home safe, sound and well.
Mr Jan’s 85-year-old father Haji Muhammad Ismail said: “Thank God my son has returned home safely after four months.”
Haji Ismail had appealed to the Chief of the Army Staff for help in tracing his son.
The kidnappers had first demanded Rs 1 billion as ransom for the release of the former higher education secretary. However, his father and family had refused to pay the amount claiming that they had no money to give.
Later, the kidnappers reduced their demand to Rs250 million, which the family did not pay. Police officials confirmed that the former secretary had come home. “Yes, the family has confirmed that he had returned from captivity,” said a senior police officer, adding that his statement would be taken in a couple of days.
Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2017
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