SUKKUR, Dec 12: A reported deal for recovery of judges has hit snags as the kidnappers have made some new demands, reliable sources told this correspondent on Sunday.

The sources said police were using a jailed outlaw, Bagoo Jatoi, for the purpose and they had taken him to some undisclosed place from the Sukkur Central Prison.

Meanwhile, Ayub Kharoos, who was arrested during an operation for having links with kidnapper Shamoo Jatoi, was released on Saturday night. It is said that after the failure of the deal, the kidnapper shifted the hostages to Jafferabad, Balochistan.

Sindh IGP Syed Kamal Shah conceded at the Sukkur Airport on Saturday night that the kidnappers had been identified and their supporters had been arrested. He said names of the arrested people could not be disclosed for security reasons.

He said police did want to act in haste as it could put lives of the hostages in danger. He, however, said it was not confirmed that the judges had been shifted to Jafferabad.

The sources said Sindh Chief Secretary Aslam Sanjrani, IGP and Home Minister Abdul Rauf Siddiqui had rushed to Shikarpur on Saturday as Shikarpur police authorities had communicated to them that the judges would be recovered in the evening.

Talking to journalists, the home minister expressed the hope that the judges would be recovered soon. He appealed to lawyers against holding protest demonstrations and to play their role in the safe recovery of the judges.

He also said the kidnappers had been identified and their supporters had been arrested. He said to make the judges' recovery safe, police were avoiding to carry out a big operation.

Earlier, the authorities attended a high-level meeting of the Sukkur region police which reviewed efforts being taken for the recovery of the kidnapped judges and other people.