YEARS
Senior police officer Rizwan Gondal told reporters on Wednesday that the Hindu businessmen – Shamir ji and Dhima ji – were abducted by dacoits from the Kachha (river) area on Friday. He later demanded his release and the release of his comrades.
The alleged gangsters kidnapped two Hindu businessmen and demanded the release of their associates from police custody in exchange for the safe release of the businessmen. The incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan, 500 km from Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Senior police officer Rizwan Gondal told reporters that Hindu businessmen Shamir ji and Dhima ji were kidnapped by dacoits from the Kachha (river) area on Friday. He later demanded his release and the release of his comrades. He said gangster leader Kabul Sukhan, who has a bounty of PKR 10 million on his head, is involved in the kidnapping of Hindu businessmen.
He said a police team has been formed to recover the abducted Hindus and five others who were recently abducted by dacoits. He said the gangsters have also released a video of Hindu and other hostages demanding the release of their comrades in police custody. The gangsters have threatened to kill the prisoners if their demands are not met. He expressed hope that the police operation would soon recover the kidnapped traders. The police officer further said that the gangsters are also using strategies of honey traps and direct kidnappings from roads and residential areas.
Hindus are Pakistan’s largest non-Muslim minority, but they face significant discrimination and violent attacks in the Muslim-majority country. President of Rahim Yar Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Iqbal Hafiz, has expressed serious concern over the rapid increase in kidnapping cases in the district. “It is the responsibility of the state to ensure a safe environment for traders and industrialists,” he said. Due to the increase in kidnapping incidents, many traders and industrialists have left the district.
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