Daily Times

KARACHI: Two ‘missing’ aides of former president Asif Ali Zardari were recovered safely from the captivity of kidnappers during a joint operation in Balochistan on Sunday.

“The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) of Karachi police with support of intelligence agencies recovered Ashfaq Leghari and Ghulam Qadir Mari from Turbat, Mand area of Balochistan,” AVCC chief SSP Tariq Dharejo told media. The two were abducted in different incidents in Karachi and Jamshoro. “The security agencies helped in tracking and cornering of the kidnapers and after lengthy negotiations, the abductees were freed,” Dharejo said. No arrests have been made so far in the case, he said. Laghari’s family received an extortion call after the abduction which helped the recovery operation, he added. Two drivers and a gunman of Mari were also recovered.

Mari, a landlord from Tando Allahyar, went missing when he was travelling from Sehwan to Hyderabad along with his guard and a driver. While Leghari, former chief of Sindh Peoples’ Students Federation, went missing from Gadap Town of Karachi.

Zardari’s friends went missing from different parts of Sindh last month sending the Pakistan People’s Party into panic mode and triggering fears that it was an attempt to target the PPP leadership, particularly Zardari. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was alleged by Zardari in multiple addresses including those at rallies of having his friends abducted. The Sindh High Court had recently ordered to form a joint investigation team for the recovery of Zardari’s aides.