SAHIWAL: The regional judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court on Wednesday sentenced two members of the banned Balochistan Republican Army (BRA) to 31 years of imprisonment each.
The convicts, Sadar, a resident of Rojhan, and Nabi Dada, a resident of Basti Allah Wasaya of Rojhan, were arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) from village 19/SP, district Pakpattan on the evening of June 10, 2025.
During the operation, CTD recovered 2,767 grams of explosive material, prima cards, an iron box, electronic devices, cables, detonators and cash. The CTD called the bomb disposal squad, led by Asger Ali, to examine and safely dispose of the recovered electronic devices.
The accused were booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and Sections 4/5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 at the CTD Sahiwal Police station.
After the trial, both convicts were shifted to the Sahiwal Central Prison.
RELEASED: A kidnapped businessman was released by his captors after 44 days and they left him at Fato Moor from where his family recovered him late on Tuesday night.
As per details, the Fateh Sher Police registered a kidnapping case against three unidentified suspects on the complaint of victim Muhammad Faizan’s cousin, Sameet Sultan.
Police claimed that the family was reluctant to involve the police as they feared for his safety. The family was in constant liaison with the kidnappers.
According to the police, the victim was a mobile phone and currency shop owner and a resident of village 82/6-R. Police said that he was abducted by three men in a car on the night of October 10, 2015, shortly after he closed his shop. Although two of his cousins witnessed the incident near the Women College Road, the kidnappers managed to escape after rendering Faizan unconscious.
The abductors later contacted the family through various international numbers and demanded ransom. Out of fear, the family initially avoided involving the police. During captivity, the kidnappers reportedly extorted Rs700,000 and $1,000 from Faizan using his credit cards and other transactions. When the family refused to pay additional money, the captors released Faizan. He was dropped off near the Fato Morr from where a rickshaw driver contacted his family and he was brought home safely by his cousins.
Faizan told police that he had been kept in a dark, abandoned room throughout his detention. The Fateh Sher Police registered a case against the unknown kidnappers on Wednesday and started investigations.
Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2025