HYDERABAD, Oct 7: Pir Ghulam Jan Sarhandi on Sunday appealed to the authorities concerned to order immediate steps to trace his nephew Ghulam Rasool alias Babji, who he alleged had been kidnapped by Abdul Razzaq Saand and Asghar Shaikh alias Lala from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, on July 7 this year.

Ghulam Jan Sarhandi, who is brother of Pir Ghulam Mujaddid Sarhandi (Babji’s father) and the custodian of Pir Sarhandi shrine in Matiari said at a news conference at the press club that they had filed an FIR at that time and nominated the accused who had been identified by one Mohammad Pali.

They had kidnapped Mr Pali and Babji together but later set Mr Pali free near Dhabeji, Mr Ghulam Jan said and added that the application for bail of the accused had been rejected by the fourth additional district and sessions’ judge of Karachi East on Sept 14 but the police had so far failed to arrest them.

He said that the Sarhandi family, which had tens of thousands of followers, had close links with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), had serious political differences with the influential of the area, Sardar Zulfiqar Shah Jamote, who was leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Functional).

Local police had registered many false FIRs at Matiari and a number of other police stations of the area against the Sarhandis to pressurise them to withdraw kidnapping case against Saands.He alleged that the Saand community had occupied their land with the help of Zulfiqar Shah Jamote, and despite the decision of an ownership case by the third senior civil judge of Hyderabad in their favour, the Saands had not vacated the property.

Mr Ghulam Jan said that the local police were acting like Jamote’s foremen. They had received a letter on July 28, 2007, from the accused demanding Rs2 million as ransom for releasing Babji and threatened to kill the hostage if the amount was not paid.

But in spite of taking any action on the ransom note, police turned their fury on their shrine and “Havelis”, tortured their servants and disciples and registered false cases against them under the Arms Ordinance.

They took away his brother Pir Abdul Haleem Sarhandi after the raid and kept him in wrongful confinement at Oderolal police post for weeks before he was set free on Aug 17, in a raid ordered by the district and sessions judge of Hyderabad, he said.

Mr Ghulam Jan said that having been disappointed by the local administration they submitted a human rights application to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan on Aug 5, 2007, who took suo motu notice of the matter and directed the PPO to appear before him with Babji on Oct 1 in Islamabad.

The PPO remained absent on the day. The Chief Justice took serious notice of his absence and again directed him to appear with the hostage on Oct 11, he said and expressed the hope that he would get justice this time.