By Ghulam Ghaus
DIR: Local elders in Dhog Dara area of District Dir Upper are negotiating with the kidnappers of Akhtar Jan Kohistani, a former BBC employ ee and Afghan national to ensure his release. Akhtar Jan was kidnapped in November last year from Chitral when he was visiting the house of his in-laws.
Chitral Police confirm that Akhtar was kidnapped by unidentified militants. Earlier he worked for BBC in Afghanistan and later joined an International aid agency that works in partnership with the Afghan government.
After a gap of two months he has been now reportedly found with his kidnappers in Dhog Darra area of upper Dir. Locals say that Akhtar was trying to escape from his kidnappers however he was arrested once again and shifted to Dhog Dara where a tribal jirga is struggling hard to ensure his safe release.
According to some Jirga members the kidnappers alleged that Kohistani was involved in sharing information about certain militant groups with US-led Nato forces in enighbouring Afghanistan. However this allegation is not confirmed by independent sources.
The Kidnappers have demanded to release Qari Mahiuddin (neck name… Abdullah) in return for the freedom of Akhtar Jan Kohistani. Abdullah has been arrested in Mardan & taken into prison in Peshawar & is believed to be a suspected Alqaeda member.
Ghulam Ghaus is a TV & online journalist of North West Pakistan.