Is kidnapping of two young brothers in Tirah a plot to usurp their property?

BARA: Two young brothers have been kidnapped in the remote Tirah Valley of Khyber tribal district and it is being speculated that they have been kidnapped allegedly by their close relatives to usurp their property.

The people of four tribes of the area are infuriated over alleged lack of cooperation from the administration in recovery of the two kidnapped brothers and they have staged a sit-in outside the administration office to record their protest. The protesting tribesmen have also closed all the bazaars and markets.

The area people said Asif and Munsif, five and seven-year-old sons of Shafiq Afridi, a member Narkhad area of Barkambarkhel sub-tribe of Afridi tribe in Khyber tribal district, went for tuition as per routine on March 07, but did not return home. The father of the kidnapped brothers has alleged that his sons have been kidnapped by his cousins. He feared that his young sons might be killed by his relatives for usurping his property if timely action was not taken to recover them.

The local administration has came into action for the recovery of the kidnapped brothers and a huge contingent of police has also reached Tirah Maidan. However, the local people are not satisfied with the steps taken so far by the administration and police. They said that they will be compelled to take action against the kidnappers on their own if the administration did not take action by the evening.

Social activist and Jirga Pakistan leader Dr Nooroz said while talking to TNN that the local administration has not taken any concrete step for recovery of the children despite passage of four days of their kidnapping after which the people have closed the trade centres as protest. He said talks with the administration also ended without any result.

Shafiq Afridi said he was with his ailing mother at Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar for the last few days and when he got information about his sons going missing, he left his ailing mother alone and started search for his sons, but in vain.

Local sources said the administration has arrested one cousin of Shafiq Afridi on suspicion of involvement in kidnapping. However, no information about the kidnapped boys has been recieved so far.