Nasib Shah Shinwari
LANDIKOTAL: The 17 tribesmen of Landikotal who were abducted some five months ago by unknown gunmen from the Enzaro Nao area were released on Thursday evening. Officials and relatives of the released persons confirmed to the media on Saturday.
A warm welcome and respect were offered by officials of the political administration, the local elders, political party leaders and civil society members to the seventeen released persons at the office of political administration and Landikotal Bazar.
The released persons told media men that they had gone to a picnic spot in the ‘Enzaro Nao’ area where some gunmen arrived and kidnapped them to Afghanistan at gunpoint.
A large number of locals including political party leaders and civil society members welcomed them at the Landikotal bazaar and offered bouquets to the freed persons.
The released persons told the media that they were in the captivity of Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of (TTP) Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The freed persons told media men they were tortured by militants by using abusive language them.
The emotional and loving scenes were observed when the relatives of the abducted persons met their near dears at the political administration premises.
I saw a close relative of a released person who was holding the hand of the released person and tears were clearly visible in his both eyes.
Basheer Ullah, a released person said as they offered prayer at the Enzaro Nao area some gunmen reached the site and told us to go with them.
He said the gunmen covered our faces and we walked with them for hours. Another released person said the gunmen shifted them to Afghanistan and they kept us at various places in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
When this scribe asked the freed persons about which Taliban group had abducted them, the freed persons said the Taliban group was ‘Jamat-ul-Ahrar’ (JUA) adding that the militants told them that they belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
The freed persons said the Taliban were thinking that we were working with a security force of Pakistan but we told them that we were the citizens of Pakistan and had not been recruited by the Pak security forces.
A student of the 9th class who was also abducted by militants told this scribe that we were facing difficulties in the imprisonment of the militant group.
We were seventeen people but the militants were used to giving us some five to six pieces of bread and a very small amount of cooked food. A freed person disclosed.
When this scribe sent a text message to the officials of the political administration of Khyber Agency, none of the officials responded and handed over the released persons to them after they were freed by militant groups in Afghanistan.
The released persons talking media thanked all those who struggled for their safe release from Taliban detention.
Meanwhile, the political party leaders of Jamat-e-Islami, Pakistan Muslim League-N, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and Awami National Party gathered at Landikotal Bazar and addressed the locals and the freed persons.
The leaders Zarnoor Afridi of JI, Abdur Raziq Shinwari(PTI), Shah Hussain Shinwari(ANP), and Israr Shiwnari of (PML-N addressed the gathering.
The leaders said the struggles of the political leadership bear fruits and the release of the abducted persons were only made possible due to the political party leaders and the local journalists who raised their voice through print and electronic media to safely release tribesmen.
Israr Shinwari said the authorities should announce a financial package for the released persons as they were in the detention of militants for many months and they belonged to very poor families.
The sources also revealed that the representatives of the Khyber Agency in the National Assembly also raised their voices for the safe release of the tribesmen.
A couple of days before Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi while talking to media men said that they were making efforts for the safe release of the 17 abducted persons.
