SAHIWAL:Another prayer leader was kidnapped by four armed men in a double-cabin vehicle at Village 25/14-L on Sunday.

Shahkot police have registered a case under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the unidentified kidnappers on the complaint filed by the victim’s wife, Amaara.

Reports said Muhammad Abu Bakar, a prayer leader and teacher at the village seminary Fatima Tul Zahra, was abducted outside the madressah gate after finishing his class. As he stepped out, a double-cabin vehicle approached and four armed men bundled him into it.

Following the abduction, Abu Bakar’s phone was turned off, and police have yet to trace his whereabouts.

This is the second incident of kidnapping of a prayer leader in the district within a week.

Last Thursday, under similar circumstances, four men abducted prayer leader Muhammad Adnan from Village 136/9-L. His father, Maulana Abdul Jabbar, reported the incident to Ghala Mandi police.

Adnan was kidnapped as he came out of the mosque after Maghrib prayers. Five days have passed, yet district police have been unable to locate him.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025