SHANGLA: The family of a Shangla resident, who was arrested in India over illegal entry, on Monday claimed that Faiz Mohammad hadn’t been in contact with it since Aug 24.

It added that it learned about the arrest of the 24-year-old from the media.

Indian media reported that Hyderabad police took Faiz Mohammad into custody for illegally entering the country from Nepal to meet his wife and their son.

It added that the woman went to India last year from Sharjah, where she and Faiz Mohammad worked, to see her parents but didn’t return.

Iqbal Hussain of Bisham area here told Dawn that Faiz Mohammad was his younger brother, who worked in a garment factory inSharjah, but his family didn’t know about his marriage.

DC says Foreign Office to contact Indian authorities

He said his brother never told him about his departure from Sharjah, and he hadn’t been in contact with him since Aug 24 with his WhatsApp and Facebook messengers being turned off.

“We knew about Faiz Mohammad’s arrest in India yesterday [Sunday]. A week ago, Indian media showed his passport picture but we couldn’t recognise it. Locals informed us on Monday night about his arrest in Hyderabad as reported by Indian media,” he said.

Mr Hussain said his brother used to help his poor family in Bisham through remittances but hadn’t sent in money for the last nine months.

“Whenever asked, he told us that he was in Sharjah,” he said.

The resident urged the Foreign Office to ensure the safe homecoming of his brother along with his wife and child.

Local elder Azhar Ali of Shang village said a jirga was held in the area to discuss ways for the safe homecoming of Faiz Mohammad.

“The jirga contacted local politician and PML-N provincial president Amir Muqam, who promised help for the recovery of Faiz Mohammad. It also decided to approach the foreign minister for intervention,” he said.

When contacted, deputy commissioner Hasan Abid said he took up the matter with the Foreign Office, which said it would formally contact India’s external affairs ministry on the issue soon.

Meanwhile, a private bank’s manager (operations) “went missing” in Bisham area here Saturday night.

Family of Syed Jamshed Ali Shah formally reported the matter to police and requested them to find his whereabouts.

The police said the banker had been missing since Saturday night when he left home.

They said the missing person reportedly held a live session on his Facebook account from the bank of the Indus River the same night and that his whereabouts hadn’t been known since then. The police said they’re making efforts to find Mr Shah.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023