KOHAT: The police arrested four kidnappers and recovered a man from their captivity during an operation in Shindandh area late on Sunday night.

The victim, Saddam Hussain, had recently returned to his village from Karachi.

The abductors were identified as Zoheb and Vaqar of Ibrahim Khel, and Mohammad Farooq and Umer Farooq of Turkey Ismail Khel, according to a statement issued here on Monday.

The police said the accused disclosed during initial investigation that they had kidnapped Mr Saddam over relations with a woman. A case was registered against them.

Also, the Lachi police arrested four gamblers during a raid on their den in Mandoori area and seized four motorcycles, a car, sound system and a deck of cards.

SHO Tariq Mehmood said the raid was made on a tip-off, adding stake money was also seized. He said a case had been registered against the gamblers.

Separately, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, district president Malik Iqbal resigned from his office on Monday.

Talking to mediapersons, he said he would meet the prime minister to tell him about his reservations over the decision making process in Kohat.

Accompanied by a number of party workers, Mr Iqbal predicted that PTI won’t be able to win the next elections in the district.

He recalled that party chairman Imran Khan had offered him ticket for the 2018 elections, but he gave it to Shehryar Afridi. Meanwhile, sources said Mr Iqbal was annoyed over the induction of ‘biased and partisan’ people in the dispute resolution council. He has also reservations over formation of the board of Water Supply and Sanitation Company.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2021