QUETTA, Aug 16: Sheikh Mohammad Alam Mandokhel, tribal elder and spokesman of the Sheikh House, has said that his family had no direct or indirect links with the kidnappers of 16 security personnel in South Waziristan who are demanding release of 10 persons, including two members of the Sheikh community, in exchange for the hostages.

He said at a news conference at the press club here on Thursday that on July 23 two guests had come to Sheikh Ayub’s house for overnight stay but the following morning, Anti-Terror Force personnel and police raided the house and one guest, Abdullah Mehsud, was killed.

The security forces arrested the other guest, Abdur Rehman Mehsud, and two members of the Sheikh family, Sheikh Muhammad Azam Mandokhel and his 14-year-old son Shamsher Mandokhel.Sheikh Alam said that he came to know from media reports that the man killed was Abdullah Mehsud and the other person was Abdur Rehman Mehsud. He said a terrorism case had been registered against Sheikh Ayub Mandokhel, Sheikh Azam Mandokhel and Shamsher Mandokhel. Surprisingly, he added, Rehman Mehsud had not been named in the case.

He said under tribal customs, Pakhtun and Baloch guesthouses were always open to guests and in the absence of Sheikh Azam, his son allowed Abdullah Mehsud and Abdur Rehman Mehsud to stay in the guesthouse in Zhob.

Alam Mandokhel claimed that Shiekh Ayub, Shiekh Azam and Shamsher were innocent and appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to get the matter investigated through a judge of high court.

He also distributed photo-copies of a letter of superintendent (Human Rights Cell) Supreme Court, Islamabad, dated August 8, forwarding an application of Shaho Bibi to the Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court. The applicant had requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to conduct a judicial inquiry into the July 24 incident.