RAWALPINDI: Police and family members are looking for a 13-year-old boy who went missing over two weeks ago from the cantonment area.

Mohammad Usman Ghani, an eighth class student at F.G. Public School Mehfooz Road Cantt, left his school on Oct 19 but did not reach his home.

The boy’s father is an employee at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

After waiting for some time at the wagon stand, the boy’s father sought police help which led to a major search for the missing teenager.

A police spokesperson said a team even went to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in light of a text message his father received, though it was not for ransom. However, they were unable to trace the boy.

The spokesperson said the police had been questioning his classmates, especially those who had last seen him sitting in a wagon.

He said nobody could provide the registration number of the wagon, but police were using all methods to trace the boy.

The police have ruled out the possibility of kidnapping for ransom as the boy’s family was neither financially strong nor had any enmity.

“Police suspect the boy had run away to escape his father’s strictness,” the spokesman said.

On the other hand, Mohammad Asif Javaid told Dawn that his son could be seen in the CCTV cameras installed in the school leaving the institution in a happy mood with his friends.

He said he was a little strict with his children but it did not mean that his son was annoyed with him.

“He was happy and looking fresh when I dropped him at his school that day,” he said.

“My son was loved by his mother; he could not stay away from her even for a single day,” Mr Javaid added. The spokesperson said if anyone had information about Usman’s whereabouts, they could contact the police on their emergency number or the CPO Rawalpindi.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2020