Dramatist Khalilur Rehman Qamar was allegedly tortured and looted during brief abduction by armed men in Lahore earlier this week, it emerged on Sunday.

A first information report (FIR) of the incident, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, has been registered at the Sundar Police Station in Lahore on his complaint and invokes sections 395 (punishment for dacoity) and 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Rehman is quoted in the FIR as saying that close to midnight on Monday (July 15), he received a call from an unknown number.

The caller, who said her name was Amna Urooj, introduced herself as a fan of the writer and wanted to make a TV drama with him, the FIR states.

Upon being invited to a meeting, the writer reached the given location at around 4:40am where the woman showed him into her house, the FIR states, adding that there was a knock on the door as he sat down and around seven armed people entered the room and body-searched him.

Rehman alleged that the men confiscated Rs60,000, an iPhone 11, a Bank Al-Habib ATM card as well as his national identity card.

The FIR added that more than Rs200,000 were also withdrawn from a separate Allied Bank account belonging to the complainant.

The kidnappers, the FIR states, told Rehman that they had being given the orders to kill him, before demanding a ransom payment of Rs10,000,000, to which Rehman told them that he did not have that kind of funds available.

The FIR said that Rehman was then handed over to five other men who took him to an unknown location, where they demanded more money from the writer, upon which he called a friend and asked him to bring Rs1,000,000.

However, Rehman’s friend excused himself, at which the kidnappers assaulted him before leaving him in a deserted place and fleeing themselves.

The dramatist, in the FIR, demanded police action against his abductors, adding that he would be able to recognise them.

A controversial figure, Rehman has written many famous dramas such as Meray Paas Tum Ho and Pyarey Afzal.

He is also known for his remarks on topics of gender.

Opinion

Editorial

Dangerous times
14 Feb, 2025

Dangerous times

SPEAKING the truth should never be a death sentence. The most recent figures published by the Committee to Protect...
Difficult target
14 Feb, 2025

Difficult target

A ONE-two punch delivered by an unforeseen, sharp dip in inflation and an extremely slim base of taxpayers is...
Amazing show
14 Feb, 2025

Amazing show

PAKISTAN’S ability to turn it up at the flick of a switch remains uninhibited. The latest show came in...
Trump’s folly
Updated 13 Feb, 2025

Trump’s folly

This latest pronouncement only reinforces the fears of those who see the plan as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing.
Corruption ranking
13 Feb, 2025

Corruption ranking

IT comes as little surprise. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2024, unveiled on...
Support from remittances
13 Feb, 2025

Support from remittances

EVEN though workers’ remittances dipped, albeit negligibly, in January on a month-over-month basis, the earnings...