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ISLAMABAD: Over 18 months after 35 Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were taken hostage by Taliban in Mohmand Agency; Abdul Ghaffar, 71, has lost all hopes of reuniting with his lone son Lal Zarin who was among the captives.
On June 13 last year, the FC personnel surrendered to members of the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) who stormed their Shinkorai checkpost in Mohmand Agency.
Since then, the elderly Abdul Ghaffar, a resident of the remote Paloski village in Karak district, has been running from pillar to post pleading to Taliban leaders, politicians and religious clerics for helping him in getting his son freed.
Lal Zarin was the lone bread winner of the family and whatever he had earned was spent by his father on getting him released.
“Earlier, Taliban had demanded that they would release the captives in return for their commandos held by security agencies, warning that in case the government failed to swap the prisoners they would behead the FC men. But military authorities have turned down the offer and were of the view that the FC personnel had surrendered without showing any resistance,” Abdul Ghaffar told Dawn.
“I have personally met the Taliban and some military officers several times and reached the conclusion that only a divine intervention can get my son released. The pain is felt by those who are the victims,” said the aged man.
However, the distraught man is once again hopeful to meet his son after reports that the government and Taliban were in talks for a peace deal though the government has denied any such development.
“I pray for a peace deal between Taliban and government as it would enable us to see our son. We are concerned only about our son and anything that brings him back would be a miracle for us,” the mother of the FC captive told this reporter.
Parents of all the 35 FC men belonging to Afridi, Khattak, Marwat and Mohmand tribes had collected money for recovering their sons but now the fund has been exhausted and hopes shattered and they can only pray for a peace deal.
Interestingly, the FC authorities have denied monthly salaries to the captive men for surrendering to the Taliban. “A security man is supposed to fight and not to surrender,” FC spokesman Maj Fazal told Dawn from Peshawar.
He said the FC personnel were in custody of Taliban in Mohmand Agency, adding many raids had been conducted to recover them.He said FC would never swap prisoners with militants as the move would endanger other people leading to demand for setting free suicide bombers and other key militant fighters.
On the other hand, TPP spokesman in Mohmand Agency Sajjad Khan Mohmand told this reporter on phone that the FC men would be freed only if the government released their commanders.
To a question, he said any peace deal with the government would mean prisoners swap. “There are efforts to strike a peace deal but it would not happen until Pakistan detaches itself from the US war,” he added.
