KARACHI: A Chinese trader, who had gone missing in the Defence area last week, was safely recovered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a senior official here on Tuesday.

The police did not come up with much detail, but confirmed that the Chinese citizen was safe.

“He was traced with the help of modern technology and was recovered from KP,” said DIG-South Sharjeel Kharal.

The Gizri police station last week registered an FIR on a complaint of a colleague of the missing trader under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant said in his police statement that the trader left his residence in DHA’s Phase VII at 7pm on April 20 telling him that he was going to dinner with some Chinese friends. He went alone in a rented car, he said.

The complainant said that after a while he tried to contact him over the phone but could not get any reply. He then approached the person who rented the car to the victim and with his help the vehicle was traced and found abandoned on Khayaban-i-Ittehad. However, the police were still not sure that the Chinese national was actually kidnapped.

“So far no evidence has emerged that it was a kidnapping for ransom incident,” said the DIG-South in reply to a question.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2020