KARACHI, Sept 25: A bank officer who had been kidnapped for ransom on Tuesday in Karachi was recovered in Mardan, the NWFP, on Sunday. Having tracked down the alleged kidnappers in Mardan, the Karachi police told their counterparts in Mardan to arrest them. Subsequently, the local police raided the specified place and arrested two suspected kidnappers. On the lead given by the suspects, the police recovered their hostage, Hamid Omar Sameen.

The alleged kidnappers, stated to be members of an inter-provincial gang, were identified as Qazi Hanifullah and Qazi Qurban. The captive’s car, cellphone and an ATM card were also recovered.

According to police, the 37-year-old grade-1 officer lives alone in Clifton’s Block-8. He had had gone missing on September 20. One of his colleagues, Mr Aftab, had lodged a complaint with the police in this regard.

DIG Investigation Manzoor Mughal said that the kidnappers had contacted the victim’s father, Mr Sameen Khan, Federal Finance Secretary, to demand Rs5 million for his son’s release.

“During our efforts to track down the kidnappers with the help of the CPLC, we came to know that the victim’s ATM card has been used to draw cash from a bank branch in Mardan,” Mr Mughal said.

The arrested kidnappers led the police to a place in Rashaki village from where Hamid Omar Sameen was recovered.

A police party has been dispatched to Mardan to seek custody of the kidnappers.